We've All Got Some Secrets
by gmenon1
Summary: Eve, a student of Salem Institute in America, has been taking care of her drug addict mother. One day after sixteen years, she was discovered by social services and was transferred to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin her sixth year.
1. Careless

**Careless**

My name is Eve.  
>Well in reality, it's Evelyn, but that sounds like I'm sixty and only have cats for friends. Although, other than the fact that I'm sixteen, it's true. I find people careless, and as a result, my best friend is my cat, Lou.<br>I live with my mother. My father ran away. I have no idea who he is. I vaguely remember being slapped for asking my mother once. But that was when my mother was strong enough to slap me. But she does still bring up the reason he ran off: my existence drove him away.  
>I dragged myself off the wall and away from my thoughts and decided to check on her again.<br>I walked down the dim hallways, turning on lights as I approached the living room. The lights kept flicking on and off, which I was used to. But dim lights were better than no light. When I got to the kitchen, I stopped and looked inside. My mother was sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees.  
>"Mom?" I asked, leaning down beside her. "Mom, give me the drugs." I demanded. She pulled her head from between her arms and looked up at me, her eyelids half closed. She reeked. She smiled at me, if you could call it that, her teeth yellow and her skin yellow.<p>

"You want them now, do you?" She croaked. I looked at her in disgust.

"I'm not like you." I said. "Now give them to me, and get back in bed." I said. She just gave a short, raspy bark of laughter and unfolded her arms. She had a syringe between her fingers and she waved it in front of me, her arms shaking.

"I'll die without this. So I'll find a way to get more. I always do Evelyn. So don't you fucking think for a second that you're helping anyone." Her eyes gleamed.

"You drove your father away, you little brat. So you don't get to play hero."  
>I carefully pried the syringe away from her hands, ignoring what she was saying. I pulled her up and made her lean against me. She weighed nothing. She was paper thin and slowly wasting away. I picked her up and put her into bed when we reached the bedroom.<br>I walked out and quietly shut the door behind me, pulling out the key I kept and locking it from the outside. I sat down and leaned my head against the door, twirling the syringe between my fingers.

Someone was banging on the door. My eyes flew open with a start and I jumped to my feet, realizing what must have happened. I stumbled for the key and unlatched the door. It flew open and my mother tumbled out of the room.  
>"You little bitch, you locked me in there?" She yelled at me, spittle flying everywhere. She stood up and stumbled to the kitchen. I followed behind her, wary of her falling over. "Where are my car keys?" She demanded.<p>

"I don't know." I lied.

"You do know." She said angrily.

"I can't give them to you." I said, holding my ground. She brought her hand to my face to slap me. She was weak though and I felt nothing. I heard knocking at the door. My eyes widened and I glared at my mom.

"Don't come out. Or you'll get in trouble. I'll handle this." I said. I reached into my jeans pocket and made sure my wand was there, before walking over to the door and opening it a crack. There was a friendly looking teenage girl standing at the door, her hair in high pigtails and a dorky expression on her face.  
>"I'm selling cookies, and I was wondering if—"<p>

"You asshole, you stole my fucking syringe didn't you? My drugs?" I heard my mom yell from behind me. Startled, I turned to give her a look, but when I turned back to the girl, I saw the damage was done. She was staring at me, wide eyed.

"It's not what you think." I started hastily. "That's just my mom. Look, what were you saying about cookies?" I asked, but she had already run toward the street.

"Damnit." I said allowed, shutting the door. Hopefully, she would be too scared to tell anyone and eventually forget about it. I hated summer. I ran toward the bathroom and opened the cabinet. The pills sat right where I had left them and I grabbed the bottle.

"Here mom, drink this and then I'll give you the drugs," I said, handing my mom a cup of water. I had crushed a sleeping pill inside one of them. She drank it and then looked at me expectantly.

"Um, in a minute. Why don't you go lie down?" I suggested. She looked at me suspiciously but nodded and made her way back to the bedroom.

"You better not be lying, you stupid girl," She shot at me.

"I'm not," I assured her, tucking her in, and leaving.

There was a knock at the door.  
>I prayed hard that it wasn't the girl.<br>I got up and opened the door a crack. A grown woman stood at the door. She had kind eyes. "Yes?" I asked.

"I have a warrant to search your house." She said simply. I stared at her. My heart was in my throat and I had never been more scared.

"I…um…"

"You have to let me in. I have backup if necessary." She said.

I looked her in the eye and saw no sign of a lie. I wasn't legally allowed to use magic, so I had no choice but to let her in. She entered and sat down on the sofa.  
>I stared at her. "What… um, what do you want?"<p>

"Is this your house?" She inquired, looking up at me.

"My mother's," I replied hesitantly.

"Sit," She ordered. I glared at her. "That was an order, actually, young lady."

"It's Eve." I corrected. She smiled patronizingly at me and pointed to the sofa cushion next to her. I sat down hesitantly.

"You're a witch, I'm guessing."  
>This took me by surprise. "Yes." I said, looking at her more closely. She was dressed very well for a witch. Most dressed a bit funky when trying to look like muggles.<p>

"You attend Salem Institute then?"

"Yes, but—"

"I'll just have a look around, shall I?" She asked sweetly. I stared at her as she pulled her wand out of her suit pocket.

"Accio pharmakeia," She said, as she waved her wand.  
>Nothing happened at first, but then to my horror, all the drugs in my house began to zoom toward her. She watched me as I stared at them in horror. The cocaine, the heroin, the pills—everything was lined up in front of her, clear as day. All the syringes even showed themselves. I didn't even know where my mom had hid all these.<p>

"Are you a drug user, Ms. Eve?" The lady asked me. I looked up at her in defiance. I could say yes and get my mother out of trouble.  
>"I am a very practiced legilimens. So don't try and cover for your mother." She stated simply. Hatred began bubbling in my stomach and I just stared her, for lack of anything else to do.<p>

"Eve, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get social services to get you out of jail, and put your mother into rehabilitation."

"But I'm working on it!" I said, jumping to my feet.  
>She looked at me pityingly. "Well it hasn't worked. We can get you far away from this place, and you will not have to take care of her again." She stated.<p>

"It's my job to take care of her." I demanded.

"What do you do when school starts?"

"I… I come home every day without the dean knowing." I said. "But that's none of your business, is it?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Eve. I'll have to take your mother in today, and someone will be sent for you shortly after. You'll have time to pack everything. I'll give you a moment to say your goodbyes." She said, standing up. I glared at her.

"Can you even do this?" I demanded.

"It's for your safety. Your mother is using intravenous drugs and is addicted. You are not in a good home environment, and by the looks of things," she paused and took a moment to look around the dingy house, "you haven't had one in a long time. Thanks to a girl scout who reported this house to her mother, you've been offered another chance. I would be smart and take advantage of it."

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" I spat at her.  
>She stopped and looked at me. "You do, actually. You have the choice to walk into this thinking of it as a second chance. Or you could walk into it thinking you're being coerced."<p>

"As if it makes a difference." I snorted.

"It makes a world of difference." She said, before turning and walking out onto the porch to wait.  
>I walked toward my mother's bedroom, and opened the door. She was still sleeping and I leaned against the doorframe and watched her. She would die without me, and that was on my hands. How had I been so careless after being so careful all this time? I shouldn't have ever opened the door. It was stupid. It was what I hated in people.<p>

"Bye mom." I whispered under my breath, before shutting the door and leaning against it once more. I pushed myself off of it and walked back toward the front door.

"You can take her. She's asleep in the bedroom." I said to the lady. "And she likes coffee in the morning. She usually sneaks off around midnight searching for drugs. I've hidden her car keys, but I didn't know about the stash of drugs she apparently had. Her favorite food is fried eggplant. She's lost her magic, and—" I made sure not to let my voice break. "And she likes when you tuck the sheet in around her before she falls asleep."  
>The woman watched me. "I'm sorry you had to go through this." She said. I shook my head.<p>

"Don't pity me." I said fiercely. It was my fault. It was my fault my mother was like this. So it was my problem. It was supposed to be my responsibility to fix what I had broken.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey guys, I hope you liked the very first chapter of my very first fan-fiction! I would like to give a warm, warm, warm shout-out to Christy (christywithaCH) who is my lovely beta, and will hopefully continue to be! :) **


	2. Breaking the Seal

Breaking the Seal  
>I sat on my suitcase, wondering where I was going to go. Lou was sitting next to me, watching me with his brilliant blue eyes. I sighed and placed a hand on him. I had been here all my life. I supposed either way I would still go to Salem.<br>I heard a knock. This was it.  
>"Miss Evelyn Martin, age sixteen, in sixth year in Salem Institute?" A man in a bright yellow poncho asked me. I looked outside, but there was no sign of rain. Apparently, this man didn't have the same affinity for dressing like a muggle as the previous witch.<p>

"Yes." I answered dully.

He looked up and smiled at me. "You'll be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He said. I looked at him in shock.  
>"You're moving me to a different country?" I asked, horrorstruck.<p>

"Yes, it's better for you to have a fresh start. Most children of drug users do have a better lifestyle if they are somewhere completely new. Hogwarts has gladly accepted you and will pay for your school books and robes. So no need to worry about any of that." He said, in a very business-like manner. He looked around him. "I assume you're all packed?"  
>I nodded, still a bit horror-struck that I was going to a different country entirely.<br>I dragged my trunk to the living room, pulling Lou up on my way.  
>The man pointed his wand at my trunk and it disappeared. Lou disappeared a second later.<p>

"Wait, where did my cat go?" I demanded angrily.

"I sent him on his way. We'll have to take a Portkey, I'm afraid." He said, pulling out a huge, broken down clock, which was beginning to get a faint blue glow around it. "Op, almost ready, Grab on!" I latched a finger to it and immediately felt a jerk in my navel. I was spinning fast.

I landed in a pile on the floor of what looked like a bar. It was dark and the barstools were upturned on the bar counters. Morning light was streaming into the windows, which momentarily confused me until I realized that the time zone had changed.  
>"Where are we?" I asked the man. He stood up and pulled me up as well.<p>

"The Leaky Cauldron." He said. He looked around while I patted off the dust on my jeans.

"Where's Hannah, she said she'd—ah! Hannah, dear, this is Evelyn Martin." He said, gesturing to me.

"Eve." I corrected. Hannah was a plump woman who must have been in her mid-thirties. She was pretty and had warm eyes.

"Nice to meet you, dear." She said, in an English accent, before pulling me into a hug that I wasn't ready for at all. I stiffened immediately and pulled away. She looked momentarily confused, but it was gone soon.

"Well Tim, you can leave her here and go now. I'll take good care of her." Hannah said, turning to the man, who was apparently named Tim. He gave me a polite nod before walking out of the bar. Hannah turned to me.

"You're room is on the second floor. I'll show you there. Your cat and belongings are already there, waiting for you. I hope you'll find London enjoyable while you're here." Hannah said. I followed her up the stairs, staying quiet.

"The train leaves on September 1st at exactly eleven. You'll have to board on platform 9 and ¾ on Kings Cross Station."

"I have no idea where that is." I said. "I drove to school."

"Hogwarts has arranged transport for you." Hannah said. I nodded.  
>We stopped at a door which she unlocked and pushed open. It was a quaint room, with dark purple bed-sheets on a one-person bed. The walls were neutral colored, and there was a desk in the corner of the room.<p>

"Hogwarts has sent you a letter by owl, which I've put on that desk for you to read. There's also a pouch of money which the school sent for you to buy the correct robes and there's a stipend for you to buy anything else you'll need." She smiled kindly at me. "I'd save some for the train though. The trolley candy is to die for."  
>I nodded and walked inside the room. I took a seat on the chair in front of the desk, fingering the envelope in front of me. I turned to Hannah, who was watching me expectantly.<p>

"Where do I… well, where do I buy all the things you're talking about?" I asked.

"You have a wand?" She asked. I nodded.

"Well you'll walk down to the back of the bar. There's a courtyard there, with a brick wall lining the back. Count three up and two across three times. Tap the brick that you count to. A portal will open and step through. If you can't remember that, come ask me."

"I'll remember." I assured her, picturing what she was saying.  
>Photographic memory was something that came in handy more often than not.<p>

"Alright. Breakfast is at nine. Lunch is at noon. Dinner is at six. Just pull the string there if you need anything. Don't stray away from Diagon Alley, and be back here for supper time." Hannah said, before leaving.  
>I looked back at the envelope sitting on the desk.<br>I couldn't open it.  
>I got up and lay across my bed, wondering if my mom was okay. I had wrote them a list and placed it on the fridge before leaving, reminding them of everything that needed to be done. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.<p>

Something bright was hurting my eyes. I opened one eye and saw bright sunlight streaming in through the window. Grumbling, I stood up and shut the blinds. There was a tray of food sitting on the corner table and I looked at it hesitantly. I was very hungry and it looked very good. There was steak and kidney pudding, with a flask of pumpkin juice and a nice warm roll. I gulped them all down hungrily.  
>I looked over at the desk again and saw the letter. Sighing, I pushed the hair out of my face and picked it up, turning it over in my hands, looking at the dark green writing on the cover and the blood red seal.<br>I stuffed it into my pocket, grabbed the tray, and walked down to the bar. It was full of people, and it scared me. I tried to remain as unseen as possible and slipped behind the bar and toward what I figured was the kitchen.  
>I pushed the door open and Hannah was standing at the stove with her back to me.<br>I found the sink and walked over to it. I began washing my tray and Hannah looked over at me.  
>"No need to do that dear. I've got it with a simple wand flick."<p>

"Oh… well, I can do—"

"Nonsense. Go explore, dear." She said kindly, flicking her wand and making the dishes wash themselves.

"Thanks." I mumbled, before walking out of the kitchen. I kept one hand in my pocket, fingering the thick parchment of the envelope. I stared at the back of the bar, where I saw a few wizards disappear to. I quickly made up my mind and followed. The portal was closing as I reached, and I pulled out my wand.  
>I tapped in the formation she told me to and the bricks splayed open. I couldn't help but gape open-mouthed at the scene before me. The place was bustling with wizards and witches. They looked like they were from every walk in life. I wished I was invisible, because a lot of people always made me uncomfortable. There were Wizarding villages in Salem, but nothing like this.<br>I stepped out into the street and started walking down the cobbled road. There were little Wizarding shops all around me, filled with all sorts of weird stuff. I felt the pouch of money in my pocket and the envelope as well. I should probably read it, I thought to myself, looking for a bench.  
>I saw a bookstore instead, called Flourish and Blotts and went inside. There were lines of books against every wall and I walked deeper inside until I found a small, abandoned reading table. It seemed to be the only place in the store which wasn't teeming with people. I sat myself down on the cushioned seat, dug in my pocket, and pulled out the envelope.<br>I lay it on the table and stared at it.

"Um… hi, do you—are you ok?"  
>I looked up quickly to see a girl with brilliant red hair looking down at me with a worried expression.<br>"What?"

"Well… you've just been sitting here and staring at that for so long. Did you need help?" She glanced down at the envelope. "Oh, do you go to Hogwarts? I've never seen you before." She said, looking a bit surprised.

"Who are you?" I asked her, confused.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm Rose Weasley." She said, smiling at me.  
>Weasley. Weasley. Where had I heard that—"Oh, are you…you're a Weasley?" I asked, surprised.<p>

"Yeah." She sat down across from me. "There are a lot of us. You sound American."

"I am." I said, eyeing her suspiciously. "I um… moved here."

"What year are you in?" She asked.

"Sixth year." I replied.

"I'm in fifth. Open that letter. It probably tells you what you need to buy." She said, looking at the letter. I had a feeling she was being nosy.

"Right, I will." I said. "Do you mind if I do this alone? It was nice to meet you and all, but—"

"Of course, I understand." She said, standing. "It was good meeting you."

"Take care." I offered before she left.

I tore the seal. I did that much.  
>Why was this so hard for me to do?<br>The parchment inside was heavy and I unfolded it to reveal neat, cursive handwriting.  
>Miss Martin<br>We are looking forward to your presence at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will be beginning your sixth year studies, and we have confirmed with Salem Institute that you have covered everything up to the sixth year level.  
>You will be sorted into one of our four houses—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin—after the first years are sorted. Attached is a copy of your school supply list. All your books have already been purchased for you based on the classes you picked at Salem. I hope you find the transition comfortable, and feel free to write me about any questions you may have.<br>Looking forward to seeing you,  
>Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress<p>

I stared at it and felt dread bubbling in my stomach once again. I had to be the new kid. Everyone would stare. Everyone would hear the story of my drug addict mom and her poor, abused daughter. I would get the pitying looks I dreaded.  
>I would be known as Hogwarts' charity case.<br>I pulled out the school list and saw book names I didn't have to worry about. I did have to worry about robes though. Sighing, I stood up and walked out of the bookstore. It was becoming darker outside, and I checked my watch.  
>It was almost seven. Shit. The robes would have to wait.<p>

"Sorry!" I gasped, bursting through the door to the Leaky Cauldron. Hannah looked up at me in surprise.

"Well that's okay, dear. Just try not to do it again. Dinner's on the table."

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><p><p>

**A/N: Second chapter up! I had the first two written together. Expect a teensy bit of time before the next one. I hope to keep you riveted though! Love you christywithaCH!**


	3. Clandestine

**Clandestine **

Neville Longbottom, Hannah's husband, just notified me that I had to run at a wall.  
>I don't think so.<br>The transport that was supposed to bring me to the platform was cancelled last-minute, and instead, Neville, or Professor Longbottom, brought me to the Platform. He was to apparate after getting me safely on the train.  
>But I'm pretty sure running at a wall wasn't considered "safely."<br>I just looked at him.

"I'm not crazy," he said, smiling at me. "Everyone does it. I'm not trying to trick you or anything."  
>I just looked at him more, completely disbelieving.<br>"Oh come on, you just saw Arianna do it."

I did indeed see Professor Longbottom's third year daughter run at the wall and disappear through it. But I knew that my mind was tricking me. There was no way.  
>"You're a witch!" Longbottom said, throwing his arms into the air.<p>

"Hey Nev!" We both turned to watch five people strolling towards us. I squinted against the sunlight and made out two boys around my age and a younger girl with light red hair skipping ahead of the both of them. As they came close, I got a better look at the parents.  
>It was Harry Potter.<br>Harry Potter was walking towards me.  
>"Where's Arianne?" The girl asked. That must be Lily Potter.<p>

"She went through already," Neville answered. Lily smiled at him and ran through the barrier. Again, my mind told me not to believe it.

"Who is this?" asked the woman. That must be Ginerva Potter. I couldn't stop gaping. She  
>was just as gorgeous as she looked in the tabloids. I probably looked like an idiot.<p>

"That's Evelyn Martin. She's moved here from Salem. She um—" I gave professor Longbottom a sharp look. He immediately caught on. "Well, she's new so I was trying to show her what she has to do."

"You have to run through the wall," one of the boys said.

"What year are you in?" The other asked, leaning against his trunks and looking at me up and down.

"Can we all just get through the barrier? We'll all catch up on the other side." Harry Potter said this. I stared at him. He gave me a curious look but smiled.

"Alright Eve. You saw two people go through," Longbottom said, turning to me expectantly.

"Fine," I muttered. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a firm grip on my trolley. I inhaled a deep breath and started running. Any time now, I would run into the wall. But somehow, by some kind of magical luck, I didn't. Instead, I slowed to a stop and my eyes flew open, taking in the sight in front of me.  
>The train was huge and scarlet, and steam was billowing in smoky spirals. "Look at that, Lou," I whispered, reaching for my cat. But my hand grasped nothing. I looked down and didn't see my cat.<br>"Shit."

"Looking for something?" I turned and saw the boy who asked me what year it was watching me, my cat in his arms.

"Thanks." I muttered as he handed Lou to me.

"James Potter," he said. "The best Potter, by the way."  
>I looked him up and down and emphasized the roll of my eyes.<br>"I'm sure."

"Seriously. So what year are you in?"

"Sixth," I said, walking ahead of him.

"Me too!" He ran up to catch up with me.

"Awesome," I replied with as much sarcasm as I could care to muster.

"Jay, mum wants to kiss you goodbye," the other boy said, running up to James. That was probably Albus. I glanced at James who looked annoyed and was giving his brother a very angry stare, but doubled back anyway. I looked around for a sign of Professor Longbottom and I saw him standing with Lily and Arianne. He caught my eye and smiled at me.  
>I gave him a tentative smile and immediately climbed onto the train, turning to hoist my trunk up with me. Albus already had it up though and was grinning expectantly at me.<p>

"Thanks," I muttered before turning and walking deeper into the train, holding Lou close to me.  
>I walked down the train corridors and glanced inside every compartment, wishing I could find an empty one. Finally, I spotted a deserted looking one and heaved onto the overhead rack before collapsing down on one of the train seats.<br>Lou settled himself into my lap and immediately fell asleep.  
>I watched him for a while until my own eyelids began to droop of their own accord.<p>

_**Rose Weasley's POV**_

We were so late, it wasn't even funny. Hugo and dad both slept in, and mum and I spent forever to try and get them to wake up and get ready. They were two of the same kind, and it was irritating beyond belief.

"Slow down, Rosie, you're not going to be late," Dad said, lazily levitating Hugo's trunk into the car.

"It is ten forty five, dad. I think it's time to hurry up, not slow down," I corrected him, grabbing Hugo's arm and shoving him into the backseat despite his protests. I climbed in after him and saw mum pulling dad in the same way.

"Alright, hold tight kids," dad said, grabbing the steering wheel and pressing on the gas. The car turned invisible and within a second, we were parked in front of the station. I glanced at my watch and yelped. It was five minutes to ten.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit." I muttered as I pulled my trunk out of the dickey.

"Language Rose!" I heard mum yell at me from the front of the car. How she hears me when I curse will forever be a mystery to me.  
>I ran at the barrier at full speed and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the scarlet steam engine still standing tall in front of me. I looked around to see Hugo running through and then straight into the train.<br>Typical.  
>I glanced around for mum and dad who had already found Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny and were chatting animatedly. Al and James were nowhere to be seen though, so I suppose they had already climbed into the train.<p>

"Bye mum, bye dad!" I yelled as the train made a loud sound, signaling that it was ready to go. They waved at me as I climbed into the train, heaving my trunk along.  
>I ran into someone headlong fell on the corridor floor, the contents of my trunk spilling over. I opened my eyes and saw that the person I ran into was on the floor too.<p>

"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry—" But I stopped short when I saw who it was that I had run into. He had a sneer on his face and was pushing himself up off the floor.  
>"Weasley, what the fuck? Do you even know how to walk?" He spat at me. I glared at him and pushed myself off the floor too.<p>

"Malfoy, I'm really not in the mood." Scorpius broke out into a grin and pulled me into him. "I missed you Weasel," he said, ruffling my hair. I pulled back and didn't take the glare off of my face.

"Help me pick it up," I demanded. He laughed and nodded, bending down next to me to pick everything up and put it back into my trunk.

"Alright, I better go before any of my family sees me," I whispered, zipping the trunk back and looking around me. I looked up at Scorpius's face.

"Don't look at me like that," I said, frowning. "You know they'd kill you."

"It's not like I'm dating you," Scorpius whined. "I'm just your best friend."

"My cousins are wankers. They won't understand how we got to be friends, Scorp. But why should I have to keep explaining this to you?"

"Because it's dumb," Scorpius said. "I hate being all secretive about a friendship!"

"It's better than you getting the shit beaten out of you." I muttered.

"I don't even know why I'm your friend. You do nothing for my ego."

"There's nothing that can be done for your ego, Scorp," I teased, zipping up my trunk with a flick of my wand. "So how was your summer?"

"Ugh, mum and dad dragged me on a trip to Hawaii."

"Sounds excruciating," I responded sarcastically.

"It was pretty bad," he said seriously. "But I have to say: American girls are hot as hell. And great in bed."  
>I gave him a look. "And exactly how many are great in bed?"<p>

"Oh come on," he said, looking away. I didn't break my glare. "Fine, three. But not at the same time."  
>I rolled my eyes and he struggled to change the subject.<p>

"How was your summer?" He asked.

"Same as always. Weasley parties, celebrating Uncle Harry's birthday—"

"Dad gets invited to that every year and refuses to go," Scorpius mused. "I heard it's about as big as the Quidditch World Cup."

"It's not quite that big, but you've got the gist," I said, laughing. I felt the train start moving and jumped in surprise.

"A bit jittery, Weasel?" Scorpius asked.

"Shut up. I got a prefect badge. I need to go the prefect compartment."

"Congrats. I'll go with you," Scorpius said, walking next to me.

"It's only prefects, Scorp."

"Good thing I'm a prefect then, isn't it?"

I turned to him in surprise. "You're a prefect too?"

"Always the tone of surprise."

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><p><strong>AN: Alright, a bit of a filler, but everyone has to be introduced! I'm so excited by the reviews and the people adding my story to their favorites. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH LOVE I FEEL IN MY HEART FOR ALL OF YOU3 Stay with me! Love you Christy! **


	4. Welcome and Welcome Back

**Welcome, and Welcome Back**

_**Eve's POV**_

"I think she's waking up."

"No, I'm pretty sure she's—oh yeah, her eyes are open."

Dreary eyed, I looked in surprise at the vast amount of faces peering curiously at me. I recognized James and Al, but everyone else was unfamiliar. Everyone was wearing robes with red and yellow ties.

"Am I supposed to be wearing that?" I asked, my voice strangely croaky.

James answered. "Yeah, we're almost there."

"Shit," I muttered, getting up and reaching overhead for my trunk. I pulled out my robes and put them over my muggle attire. Everyone was watching me and it was very unnerving. I glared around the compartment after sitting down.

"What?" I asked, irritated.

Everyone shifted nervously and looked at one another.

"I thought I found an empty compartment," I muttered, looking out of the window. I heard chatter begin to rise up again, although reserved, and watched the slight mist clinging to the train windows. I cast my eyes up to the sky and saw the darkened clouds, signaling rain.

Something slightly resembling hope found its way to my stomach, but I quickly pushed it away. There was no way I could feel hopeful with my mother locked up in some asylum because of me.

"Hey, it's you from Flourish and Blotts!" I looked around and saw the nosy girl with the red hair standing at the compartment doorway. She wore similar robes with a gold and red tie, but on her chest was a shiny badge with a lion on it.

"Rosie, ickle prefect, have you been harassing all the wittle wrong-doers?" someone cooed. I turned to find who it was. He looked a bit different from everyone else in the compartment, with his olive complexion and reddish black hair. Although, he still did have the same look as the rest of them.

"Shut it, Fred." Rose snapped at the boy. She picked her way through the compartment and sat down next to me. Oh joy.

"So I gather you've opened that letter."

"Guess you gathered correctly." I muttered. I was aware of everyone listening in. Hogwarts was turning out to be a school full of red haired nosy people.

"So tell me," Rose began, propping up her feet on James's lap, "when you get to Hogwarts, do you get sorted or are you like… already in Hufflepuff or something? And what classes are you taking? And I want to know _all_ about Salem. I'm so curious, you know."

"You ask a lot of fucking questions." I snapped. She raised her eyebrows, slightly alarmed.

"I thought maybe you just wanted to be friends."

"Rose, she's in sixth year." James piped up.

"I know that, so?"

"So… she'd probably rather be friends with me."

"Actually," I interrupted, "none of those ideas are particularly appealing. I'm going to go find another compartment."

I got up, scooping Lou with me, and pulled my trunk off the overhead. I could feel everyone's eyes on my back as I slid the compartment door open.

"What the fuck is wrong with that chick?" I heard someone mutter as I walked out. I couldn't even begin to tell him.

I stepped off the train into the cool evening air and saw dozens of horse-drawn carriages. Well, they weren't horses really. I took a closer look and recognized them as thestrals. We learnt about them, but I had never actually seen any.

"Is there an Evelyn Martin?" someone called. I looked around and saw a big, hairy looking man yelling my name. I walked swiftly toward him.

"I'm Evelyn," I said. He squinted down at me and grinned.

"I'm Hagrid. Welcome to 'Ogwarts. You'll be followin' me and the rest of the firs' years and then ye'll be sorted with 'em."

The huge oak doors opened to a quieting crowd and I followed behind the rest of the first years, looking up at awe at the sight before me. There were four huge tables, surrounded by students. One was decked in red, one in green, one in yellow, and the last in blue. And above me; above me was one of the most fantastic things I have ever seen.

It was a ceiling, but it was open to the heavens. Dark clouds floated around, and I wouldn't have been surprised if it had just started raining on top of our heads. All the eleven year olds around me were looking up in awe as well. The hall had gotten completely silent as we were led to the front.

I could easily see over all the first year's heads to a dirty, old hat sitting on a stool in the front of the room. I looked around for any sign of what this could mean, but everyone was staring at the group I was in.

We came to a stop and I watched the hat, just as everyone else was watching.

And then it started singing.

It began singing about house unity and the like. I had no idea what to make of this. I didn't know hats could make up songs. But apparently, I didn't know a lot of things.

It stopped and everyone around me began clapping in amazement, but I didn't think what it was saying was all that jaw-dropping. It's what should be done anyway, right? People shouldn't hate others because of what _house_ they're placed into. People should hate others because of valid things; things that they can change.

I watched as all the first years walked up to the sorting hat to get placed in houses. The tables cheered when a first year got into their house and I watched the relief on many of the faces with a bit of envy. I wish I knew enough about each house to feel some sort of longing to be placed into one.

I glanced toward the red table, whose members were cheering loudly for someone who had just got placed into Gryffindor, and saw all the red-headed kids sitting side by side. Well, I knew immediately that I didn't want to be put into that house.

Yeah they were Potters and Weasleys, the two most famous families in the history of the universe, but they were nosy, obnoxious, and spoiled. I wanted to no part of that.

"Martin, Evelyn!" A professor called from the front. I walked over, my hands deep in my robe pockets, and took a seat on the stool. The hat was placed carefully onto my head.

"So," the hat said in a whisper. I glanced around, but it seemed like I could only hear it. "You didn't cheer for my song." It croaked.

_Well it wasn't news to me, _I thought to myself.

"Well, that's good. I'm glad you already know what I'm talking about," The hat croaked. I jumped a little in surprise. I didn't realize that it could hear me thinking. "But, I don't think you follow it quite fully yet. You seem to have already judged a group of people of whom you know nothing of except for the situation they were born to."

"I…" I whispered, not fully understanding what the hat was referring to.

"You're a troubled soul, Evelyn. And you show qualities of every house. Therefore, I'll pick the house that will improve you the most. For that is a fundamental part of learning."

_What the hell are you talking about? _I thought. I heard the hat chuckle before opening its brim.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

_Damn_.

I got off the stool and walked over to the cheering red table, making sure to sit as far away from the red-headed clan as possible, which was a hard feat to accomplish, considering there were so many of them.

Dinner was indescribable. I managed to avoid the questions of every single person sitting around me by keeping my mouth full of food. And Merlin, was there food. Salem was nothing like this. The food was sloppy and predictable, even the beginning-of-term feast.

"You should go slowly, dear," a deep voice said from behind me. I turned to see a ghost watching me eat.

"Who are you?" I asked through a mouthful of food.

"Sir Nicholas, the resident Gryffindor ghost," he said, pushing his chest out proudly.

"Oh, nice to meet you then. I'm Eve" I said, before turning back to my food.

"They call him Nearly Headless Nick. You should ask him why." A familiar voice said. I looked up and didn't see the shy first year girl that was sitting across from me.

"Did you make that kid move?" I demanded, turning back to James Potter.

"Yes, so?"

"So that was a horrible thing to do."

"Eh, he's just a first year."

"And you're an ass." I frowned at him. He didn't look bothered.

"So Nick, show her why they call you Nearly Headless," James said to the ghost who was still lingering behind me. Nick smiled sadly and grabbed a ruffle on his collar, pulling hard. His head swung off his body, but not fully. I gasped in horror. Nick pulled his head back up onto his shoulders and looked at me with mild pity.

"Yes, it's quite scary. Unfortunately, it's only partly severed. Had it been fully off, I could've joined the esteemed Headless Horsemen. Alas, I have been declined from their group."

"That's okay Nick. They're a bunch of pompous wankers anyway," James said, shoving a bit of treacle tart into his mouth. Nick watched him a bit regretfully.

"Ah, well, I must be going. Nice to meet you Eve."

"You too, Sir Nicholas."

James was watching me with amusement when I turned back to my food. "What classes are you taking?" he asked. I glared at him, but then decided it wasn't that offensive of a question.

"Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration."

"That's quite a handful. My schedule's much better."

I kept silent. He must have wanted me to ask him what his schedule was.

"I want to play Quidditch professionally, so I'm not much into the school thing. I've been made captain this year and everything, just like mum and dad," he said proudly. Just then, the plates of deserts disappeared, and there was a clearing of throats. Immediately, the entire Great Hall fell silent and every head was turned toward the staff table. A very old woman stood in front of everyone. Her mouth was in a tight, stern line and she wore a bun of which not a single strand of hair strayed. She wore spectacles and had a particularly feline quality about her.

"I am Headmistress Minerva McGonagall." She spoke in an amplified voice. "Welcome and welcome back. I hope your summers went well and you are ready to learn once again. Argus Filch, our caretaker, would like to remind you of the usual: do not stray into the Forbidden Forest," she glanced toward my table, lingering on the redheaded clan, "All Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products are strictly prohibited, and there are to be no spells performed in the corridors. There is an extensive list of prohibitions posted on his office door. Quidditch captains are to send me a list of names for their teams by October." She folded her hands in front of her and her eyes swept across the room.

"Our old Defense teacher, Professor Granum, has retired and so I'd like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Ted Lupin."

Potter made a weird whooping and cheering noise as a handsome young man with bright blue hair stood up in his spot. I looked down the Gryffindor table and saw that all of the red-haired kids were cheering for this Lupin guy.

"Don't tell me he's related to you too?" I asked Potter as he continued to holler.

"He's my god-brother. Dad's his godfather." He said, clapping hard even after everyone had finished clapping.

"Oh. So all of you will get good grades in that class, I suppose."

"You're a smart one, Martin," Potter said, grinning at me.

"Though, I thought you didn't even care about school stuff because you want to be a professional Quidditch player or something," I whispered as the hall began quieting down.

"So you _were_ listening to me?" he asked, his eyes wide. I glared at him.

"And now that everyone is satisfied and full, it's off to bed for all of you. Prefects, please lead your houses to their dormitories," the headmistress said.

_**Rose's POV**_

I finally had everyone in their bed, including Eve, who looked as lost as the rest of the first years. James almost followed her up the girl's staircase, he was so glued to her, but I stopped him before it turned into a slide and threw him off. I explained this to him and he had no idea what I was talking about.

Honestly, no one reads _Hogwarts, a History_.

I wandered into the common room and collapsed into the warm red armchair by the fireplace. I was too tired to make it up to my bed just yet. I stifled a yawn and it took a second for me to notice that I wasn't alone. Riley White was sitting in the other armchair, watching the flames flicker red and gold. Riley was close to my family as he had made best friends with James and Fred during first year. You couldn't separate those three for anything.

"Hey Riles," I said. Surprised, he jumped up and looked over at me.

"Oh, hello Rose."

"What are you doing up?"

"Can't sleep," I gave him a curious look. "There's a lot of…things going on," he mumbled. I didn't want to push him, so I kept silent and watched the fire.

"We missed you this summer. You usually come over," I said, trying to find a new subject.

"Yes, well there was a change in plans, I guess you could say,"

"Mmm."

"Hey, who's the new girl from Salem? James was ogling the whole train ride back."

"Her name's Eve. She's in your year. I met her in Flourish and Blott's this summer. She's a bit strange. She doesn't seem to like people."

"She's really attractive though. I get what James sees," Riley said, turning to watch me. I nodded.

"Yeah, but there seems to be a lot going on there." We became quiet again, both looking into the fire.

"You know Rose, I like you," Riley said suddenly. "I like how you didn't press me."

"Well, it's your business," I said, slightly taken aback by this honest admission. "And we've all got things that we need to keep quiet." I thought about Scorpius as I said this and felt guilty. It wasn't like he was anything more than a friend. It seemed silly, actually.

I glanced over at Riley, whose eyes were closing and whose breathing was becoming deeper. I got up and walked over to him, wrapping him with the armchair cover. I looked at his face for a moment and had the irresistible urge to touch his small, honey colored curls. I resisted though, realizing how completely ridiculous that would be. I cast a quick replenishing charm for the dying fire before heading up to bed myself.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Love to Christy, and to all the marvelous reviews/readers I've gotten! Keep going, I'm loving them! And let me know if you have any juicy Riley ideas, because I'm taking offers! :)**


	5. You've Got Mail

**You've got Mail**

**_Eve_**_**'**__**s**__**POV**_

I opened my eyes and it was like I never fell asleep. The other girls I roomed with whispered about me until I fell asleep and they seemed to still be whispering. I yawned loudly to alert them to shut the fuck up and sat up against the headboard.  
>I was the last to leave the dormitory and did so with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I was scared I had learned to little; that I wouldn't be able to keep up.<p>

But I guess I had nothing else to do than to keep up.

My thoughts strayed to mom and I wondered whether I should write her. I wondered if I even could write her.

The Great Hall smelled delicious and I made for the Gryffindor table immediately. I sat down on the far end, where there was a lack of people, and immediately grabbed for the bacon and the eggs, wolfing them down hungrily.

"Hungry?" I looked up and saw James. I rolled my eyes and went back to focusing on my food. "So, McGonagall wants me to give you this schedule, since you arrived a bit later than everyone else. Also, the post came in, so your letter might be among the unclaimed ones—"

"No one's written me," I snapped at him. He fell silent and watched me as I ate. He placed a piece of parchment by my plate before standing up.

"We have first period together. I can walk you there," he offered.

"I think I can make it there on my own. I'm a big girl."

There was a moment in which I felt like he was going to say something, but thought better of it before walking away. Smart boy. I wiped my hands on a napkin and unfolded the parchment. I had Defense Against the Dark Arts first on the third floor.

And it was in five minutes.

Panicking, I got up from the table, slung my bag around my shoulders, and made for the staircases. James was walking ahead of me with a red haired kid and a blonde kid, both of whom I had recognized from the compartment. I followed behind them at a slight distance, not wanting to seem like I was following them, which I was.

"She hates me," I heard James tell the other two boys.

"How is that even possible? You're the sexiest guy in the whole, wide world," the blonde one replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. James gave him a playful punch. "I was talking to Rose about her last night, and apparently she's really strange and hates people."  
>"Yeah, I got that vibe from her on the train when she was like, I wish I got an empty compartment,"<p>

"But oh Merlin, she is hot," James said, reaching his hand up to his hair to ruffle it slightly.

"Yeah but she seems to have a lot going on with her dude. I don't think you want to deal with all that baggage," the red haired one said.

"We've all got baggage," the blonde one said. They stepped off the staircase and made their way down the third floor corridor, and I fell back slightly this time. It was less crowded in this hallway and they were bound to notice me. I followed them into a door and took a seat in the back.

Professor Lupin stood with his back to the class, scribbling something on his desk. His hair was bright yellow today, which took me off guard. It was blue at the feast just last night. I heard the clock tower ring and the door closed of its own accord.

Everyone in the classroom quieted down.

Lupin turned and beamed at everyone sitting in front of him. "Hey guys," he said cordially. "I'm pretty new here, so if you could just stand up and say a tidbit about yourself, that would be superb. I'll go first—my name is Ted Lupin and I'm a metamorphagus as well as half-werewolf." There was a horrified and sharp intake of breath at the last admission to which Lupin just chuckled. "But not to worry, me being half a werewolf just means that I prefer my meat on the raw side." There was a general sigh of relief and a few chuckles. "You there," he said, pointing toward the student sitting in the seat closest to him, "introduce yourself and say something you'd like me to know."

The kid stood up hesitantly. "I'm Darren Criss, Gryffindor, and I like to sing and I play guitar," he offered.

"That's wonderful! We'd all love to hear it sometime. Your turn dear,"

"I'm Sydney Harkins, Slytherin, and I take photographs."

And so it went on until it reached James. James stood up with an air of self-importance. "I'm James Potter, and your favorite god-sibling," he said, without missing a beat. Lupin laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Actually, that would be Lily," Teddy said, to the amusement of all the Gryffindors present, "and something else please, Jay."

"I'm a beast at Quidditch," James said. He looked around at his classmates, "and you Slytherins won't know what hit your ugly serpent asses."

"James, please!" Lupin said, his handsome features forming into a face of disapproval.

"Sorry Teddy," James said, grinning and sitting back down.

"_Professor_," Lupin half-growled at him. It was a scary growl too, probably because of the half werewolf thing. "Fred, you next." The red haired kid who was talking to James on the way over stood.

"Name's Fred Weasley, Gryffindor, and I'm the mastermind behind all the pranks that are pulled here, but you knew that already."

"And so I did," Teddy said, smiling and looking next at the blonde haired boy.

"I'm Riley White, Gryffindor, and I draw," he said this quietly and sat back down. Teddy frowned at him for a moment before his eyes landed on me. Damnit, I dreaded things like this.

I stood up, and felt a flush creeping up my neck because everyone had turned to watch me. Apparently, I was the most interesting person in the room. I was suddenly very aware of my hands and how misplaced they were. I folded them in front of me.

"Eve Martin," I managed to choke out. "Um, Gryffindor, and I, I—" There was nothing I did well. I had no idea what to say. "There's really nothing special about me," I said quietly. "But I'll work hard in your class." I sat back down, staring at the book that was sitting on my desk. I was scared to look up and see the pitying faces of everyone and so I decided not to.

"Alright, Miss Martin, I trust that you will," I heard Lupin say. "Next."

-  
><em><strong>Rose<strong>__**Weasley**__**'**__**s**__**POV**_

"Rose!" I turned to find Scorpius hissing at me from behind a particularly ugly looking gargoyle near the castle entrance. I looked around me nervously before hurrying over to stand next to him.

"What?" I asked.

"I rigged the round-partners so that you'd be mine," he said proudly.

I gave him a look. "Don't worry, there the late night rounds that I signed us up for. So at two in the morning on Wednesdays and Fridays, it'll be just you and me baby. No sneaking around," he said, giving me a playful seductive smirk, to which I responded with a shove.

"This is the difference between Weasels and Malfoys. Weasleys are brash and violent, while Malfoys are graceful and—"

"Death eaters?" I offered. He glared at me.

"You are so irritating, Weasley."

"Thanks. Look I have to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Teddy's teaching!"

"Ugh," Scorpius said, leaning against the gargoyle.

"What?"

"That Lupin bloke has all the goddamn Slytherin girls fawning and it makes me sick."

"He's quite handsome," I mused. I've always had a thing for Teddy Lupin, but a very private thing, mind.

"Oh Merlin, not you too," Scorpius groaned.

"Look, I really have to go, Scorp. I'll see you at rounds tonight," I said, before speeding off to the third floor.

I reached the door to Teddy's new classroom just as the last class was leaving. James grinned at me, Fred ruffled my hair, and Riley gave me a shy smile. He dropped his bag in the doorway and all the contents tumbled out.

James and Fred doubled back, but Riley waved them off. I leaned down and began helping him pick things up.

"Thanks Rose," he mumbled. "Oh, and thanks for covering me last night."

"No problem. Didn't want you to get cold,"

He stood up and repaired his bag with his wand. He gave me a shy smile and walked away, leaving me feeling slightly strange.

"Rose!" I turned to see Teddy grinning at me from inside the classroom. I walked in and made a beeline for him. "I would give you a hug, but I'm not sure if that's all together appropriate," he said, grinning.

"Probably not," I mused. "How was your first class?"

"James was being insolent and Fred kept trying to jinx a poor Slytherin girl from under the table," Teddy said, leaning against his desk. People had started filing into the classroom.

"Yes, well that sounds normal."

"Do you know an Evelyn Martin in Gryffindor?"

"Yes," I said with a sigh. "She's a bit strange. Doesn't like people,"

"You sure she just hasn't found any friendly enough to like?" Teddy asked.

"I mean, I tried, and I'm friendly enough," I said, glowering at Teddy when he made a unconvinced face.

"Well, maybe she's a bit troubled, don't you think?"

"Probably, but she won't really let anyone close enough to help her."

"Maybe she's just not used to help," Teddy said, "and maybe she's not used to friends either. I mean she's in a completely different country and there are probably a million reasons why."

"You know, you could find out. You're a professor anyway. And then we could do something to help her."

"I think that would be abusing power. But it's a half-good idea," he said. The clock tower chimed once and we both jumped in surprise. He cleared his throat, and I scurried to my seat in the now full classroom.

_**Eve**__**'**__**s**__**POV  
><strong>_  
>I had mail. I stared at the parchment that had just dropped in front of me. The owl who had brought it had taken a piece of my toast before flying off once more. I turned it over and saw my name clearly written on the face of the envelope. I glanced around me, but for once, no one was trying to talk to me. I pulled open the flap of the envelope.<p>

_Eve,_  
><em>Neville's told me that you've made it safely. Good.<em>  
><em>I've spoken with Tim about your mother. She is in good hands, and he would like to assure you that they're taking care of her. She's not allowed any communication for a short period of time, so I'm afraid she will not be able to write directly to you. Everything she puts in a letter will be carefully read before being sent out.<em>  
><em>However, you can write her letters. I'm sure she would love that! I've put the mailing address below, and you can use one of the school owls, or Arianne's owl, to send a message out.<em>  
><em>I'm sending some treats with the next post.<em>  
><em>Do well dear,<em>  
><em>Hannah<em>

I couldn't help but smile, even though smiling wasn't my thing. I guess it might've been the suggestion of the treats, or the fact that Hannah had even bothered to write me after only knowing me such a brief amount of time. I glanced at the mailing address she left below and decided, that for at least Hannah's sake, I'd write mom a letter.

I folded Hannah's letter and put it back inside my envelope before going to my next class, which was potions. I was really quite good at potions, if I was allowed to say so myself. It had already been a week, and I had been keeping up well in my classes. At least Salem was on par in terms of classes. I had also worked out the maze of Hogwarts well enough to navigate to my classes without following James like some sort of stalker.

The rest of the days classes went well and it was with a lighter heart than I had ever experienced that I made my way back to the Gryffindor tower. I ran up to my room, took out a sheet of parchment and a quill before going back down to the common room to sink myself into one of those armchairs and try and figure out what to write to mom.

_Mom,_  
><em>I<em>_'__m __doing __well __here._

No, that would seem like I was rubbing it in her face.

_Mom,_  
><em>Hogwarts <em>_is __horrible._

No, that would make me seem ungrateful to anyone who would read this before it got to mom.

_Mom,_  
><em>I<em>_'__m __doing __okay, __and __last __I __heard, __you __were __too. __I __told __the __people __who __are __taking __care __of __you __what __you __like __to __do __and __your __favorite __food __and __things __like __that. __As __soon __as __I__'__m __legally __allowed __to, __I__'__ll __come __over __there __and __resume __responsibility. __I__'__m __sorry __for __ditching __you. __It __wasn__'__t __my __idea._  
><em>Get <em>_better,_  
><em>Evelyn<em>

I sighed and scribbled down the address Hannah gave me on the front of the letter, before standing up and climbing out of the portrait hole. I paused, and realized that I had no idea where the Owlery was. And for once, I couldn't follow James, Riley, or Fred and find out. I stood there, chewing my lip, trying to figure out where it could possibly be, when James himself walked by.

He gave me a brief nod before saying the password. The Fat Lady batted her eyelashes at him before throwing open the portrait door. After the second day, James had given up on talking to me. He was always polite, but showed no more interest in me. Which suited me just fine.

He began to climb in when I made up my mind.

"Wait!" I said, walking forward briskly. He paused and turned to me, a quizzical look on his features. "I need… I need some help finding something," He waited expectantly, his eyes never leaving mine. "Can you tell me how to find the Owlery?"

He grinned, "I can walk you there," he said immediately, pulling himself out of the portrait hole. The Fat Lady looked irritated when she shut it again.

"No, you can just tell me, and I'll figure it out," I said quickly. He looked disappointed for only a fraction of a second.

"You sure? It's a pretty weird path," he pressed.

"I'm sure," I said, straining to be firm but polite.

"Okay," he sighed, sounding unconvinced, "go out onto the grounds, behind the astronomy tower and then again within view of the Quidditch pitches, there's this big wooden door. Open it, and it should lead to a spiraling staircase, which will lead you straight to the top of the Owlery, which is open to the skies."

"Thanks," I mumbled, before sprinting away. I could hear the Fat Lady's huff of annoyance as she swung the portal door open once more for James to climb in.

**A/N: Love to Christy! I'm LOVING THE REVIEWS you guys! JKR is fantastic as always :)**


	6. Taking Flight

**Taking Flight **

I was so extremely lost, it was not even funny. I had followed James's directions, or so I had thought, and I swear I've gone in two complete circles around the castle and I've still not found the stupid Owlery. I cried out to the darkening sky with frustration and slumped against a tree, resting my head in my hands.

I was contemplating going back to the castle and grovel at James's feet when I heard James himself.

"So… got lost?" I looked up and saw him smirking at me, his hands deep in his pockets, and his blue eyes glinting with mirth.

"Shut up," I said, "how in the hell did you find me anyhow?"

"I… um…," he seemed to stumble a bit, "I figured you came here." I didn't believe him. He had probably been following me the whole time. But I said nothing and stood up, grateful for the guide in any case. "So, can I walk you?"

I rolled my eyes. "I guess so," I said, smiling slightly.

"That's more like it." He began to walk the way I had been walking for about an hour.

"So seriously, how did you find me? Were you like following me or something?"

"If you haven't noticed, I've laid off the following you around thing. Just… I have my ways," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"So in other words, it's none of my business?" I asked.

"Basically," he said, with a grin.

He walked toward a giant door and shoved it open, revealing a spiraling staircase leading to an area open to the stars. It was getting really dark now, and I could see signs of stars as we climbed the stairs together up to the top. There were owls everywhere—hooting, flying, rustling, clicking their beaks—I couldn't help but watch for a moment, completely mesmerized, before James cleared his throat. He was smiling when I looked over at him. He gave a short whistle and I watched as a beautiful white owl flew down toward him and landed gracefully on his outstretched arm.

"Eve, meet Hedwig the second."

"She's named after the Hedwig who saved your dad during the battle at Privet Drive, right?" I asked, watching the beautiful owl nip James's ear affectionately. James glanced curiously my way. "We learned recent history in History of Magic in Salem before anything else. The teacher was a huge fan," I said, slightly embarrassed. He scoffed.

"No, I ought to be used to it by now. But it's weird, hearing stories about your own parents—everyone knowing your life story before you even know it," James said. "Well anyway, you can use Hedwig if you need something delivered."

Oh, I had forgotten. "Thanks," I mumbled, reaching over to tie the letter to Hedwig's leg.

"Your mom?" He asked.

"My business," I said a bit too harshly. "Sorry," I said immediately, recognizing the badly concealed look of hurt on his face, "it's just… yeah, it's my mom, but I don't want to get into it," I said, a bit more kindly.

"That's alright," he said, the familiar smile back on his face. He brought Hedwig to the owlery window, not that it needed one, and let her fly out of it. I watched as she soared farther into the sky and disappeared into the darkness.

**Rose's POV**

"Hello," Scorpius said, leaning against the wall in the corridor we were supposed to be doing rounds in.

"Hello," I responded, giving him a small smile. He frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're a terrible liar, Weasel."

"You'll laugh at me," I whined.

"Probably," he conceded.

"I got an Acceptable on my potions paper today," I said, turning away from him.

He was silent. After a moment, he took my hand. I looked at him and his face was one of complete sincerity. "That's tough, Weasley, I'm sorry," he said, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Wow Scorp, I thought you would laugh at me, but you're being incredibly sweet," I began. And then I heard a weird hacking noise and turned to say Scorpius trying to hold in a laugh. "You're an ass, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," I said angrily, stalking a few steps ahead of him.

"Rose, come on, I'm sorry! You're the smartest one at Hogwarts, you know that!" I kept walking. "I was just playing with you. Here let me change the subject—um, oh yeah, I slept with Patricia!" That made me stop and turn, completely disgusted. He caught up with me.

"Parkinson? She's such a pig!"

"With a nice ass."

"Oh, well I guess you're a pig too."

"Rose, I'm so tired of this."

"Of what?" I asked, surprised at his sudden change in tone.

"I don't know. I want something real," he said. I was about to respond to this un-Malfoy like statement when I saw a light coming from the broom closet up ahead. "Looks like we have a pair of lovers."

"Or Peeves," I muttered. We quietly walked toward the closet and I pulled out my wand and blasted the door off. My eyes widened. "Riley?" I whispered, watching the slumped, bloody, and thoroughly still boy in the broom closet. A scream of sorts caught in my throat and I stumbled backwards out of the closet and straight into Scorpius's arms.

"What happened?" He asked frantically. I shook my head and pointed inside, my mouth opening and closing like a grounded fish. He walked inside and I saw him assess the situation. He kneeled down next to Riley and placed two fingers against his throat. He let out a relieved sigh and stood, pulling out his wand.

"He's alive," Scorpius breathed. "You know him?" I nodded.

"He's James's and Fred's best friend," I responded, with a shaky voice.

"Okay, we need to get McGonagall. Can you look around and see if any of the portraits are awake?"

"They're all asleep."

"Fuck, I have no idea what to do."

"I do," I said, pulling out my wand. I screwed my eyes together and thought of getting straight O's on my O.W.L.s. "_Expecto Patronum!" _I watched my familiar robin burst out of my wand and flutter in the hall, casting a silvery glow around it. "Go tell Professor McGonagall that Riley's on the third floor in a broom closet and is in trouble. Urgent," I whispered to the robin. It fluttered in front of me for an instant before zooming away toward the Headmistress's quarters.

"That's N.E.W.T. level magic, Rose," Scorpius said, his eyes wide.

"I know, Uncle Harry made sure that we all knew how to do it before our third year," I said, grinning slightly.

I walked into the closet and looked down at Riley, reaching out my hand to brush aside his curls. They were matted with blood and I desperately wondered what had happened, who had hurt Riley. I squat down next to him and pointed my wand at his face.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Scorpius's voice came from somewhere behind me.

"_Enervate," _I mumbled. His eyes fluttered open and warm brown eyes found mine for a moment before he slipped back into an unconscious state.

"The pain must be too much for him to stay awake. Body's natural defense," Scorpius said from behind me. I nodded and slumped against the wall next to Riley. Only minutes passed before we heard the familiar sweeping of McGonagall's robes against the marble floor.

"Rose, Scorpius, what is going on?"

"Professor, look."

She looked inside where Scorpius pointed and her mouth fell slightly open. "Rose, what is the meaning of this?"

"We just saw some light coming from the broom closet and thought there were students up or Peeves, and when I checked it was Riley—" I choked, not being able to continue. I felt Scorpius's arm snake around my waist and saw McGonagall's fleeting look of surprise. But she made no comment and instead turned toward Riley and pulled out her wand. I saw her mumble something and Riley rose into the air and she walked out the door. He floated eerily behind her.

"Follow me," she ordered. Scorpius withdrew his arm and we followed her up to the hospital wing. "Poppy!"

Madam Pomfrey came outside, sleepy eyed, and gave a gasp of surprise. "What happened, Minerva?" she asked, taking her own wand and directing Riley to one of the beds. I slumped down into another cot while Scorpius told the story this time. Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey stood over Riley and started whispering incantations as she waved her wand in circles, touching every part of his body. Nothing was physically happening while she was doing this, but after she pulled away, she gave a satisfactory harrumph.

"He'll be okay. Someone seems to have cast a number of defensive spells on him as well as hit him pretty badly. He looks worse than he is. I was going to send him to Mungo's, but this is something I'm sure I can handle on my own," she said, wiping her brow.

"Thank you Poppy, I'll come by periodically to check on him."

"Don't try and question him till he gets better. He'll be in a bit of pain, Minerva, until I figure out what defensive spells he was hit with," Madam Pomfrey said, walking over to the medical closet and pulling out a number of potions.

"Alright, then, send word when he's ready to tell me what happened. Rose, Scorpius, you both should probably get to your dormitories—the shift ended two hours ago."

"Can I stay, Professor?" I asked.

"No Rose. It's late. Go up and get some sleep and when you wake up you may visit Mr. White."

Scorpius moved toward me and outstretched his hand. I couldn't help but notice McGonagall staring. I ignored his hand and got up on my own, leading the way out of the hospital wing and toward the Gryffindor common room. "Goodnight Rose. I'm sure he'll be fine," I heard Scorpius say. I stopped and turned, giving him a fleeting nod before running up the tower for the night.

**Eve's POV**

I woke up to the sound of very loud, very angry yelling. I walked down to the common room to find Rose Weasley and James Potter standing a few feet apart, screaming at each other. Fred Weasley was standing next to James, but wasn't saying anything. He was pale, however, and looked sickly. I saw James's little brother leaning against the wall a few feet from me and walked over to him. I was rewarded with a very, very surprised look.

"—AND YOU ACTUALLY DIDN'T FEEL THE NEED TO WAKE ME UP?" James yelled angrily.

"What's going on?" I asked Al.

"I'M A PREFECT BUT YOU—" Rose yelled towards him.

"You're being sociable aren't you?"

"Shut up."

"YOU'RE SUCH AN IRRITATING GOODY TWO SHOES!" James screamed, his ears turning bright red.

"Well, Riley White, James and Fred's best friend was found by Rose during her rounds in a broom closet, all bloodied up. He's in the hospital wing now."

"HE'S OKAY! WHY DON'T YOU GO VISIT HIM AND STOP YELLING AT ME?"

"Oh, that's harsh."

"Mmm, but the more pressing question is: why are you being nice?"

"Because I'm not a totally heartless bitch."

Al looked uncomfortable as I said this. I took a moment to watch Rose and James continue to glare at each other.

"You're not a _totally_ heartless bitch," Al said. "You just took me by surprise. And I thought if everyone kept saying it, it must be somewhat true."

"That makes me feel better," I responded, watching Fred step in between them.

"_WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU?_" They both fell silent. "James, will you come with me to the hospital wing and actually _see _Riley instead of yelling at Rose? If it weren't for her, he would still be in that fucking broom closet."

James was about to retaliate but instead nodded and they both went out of the common room, followed by Rose. Al looked over at me. "I'm going to go with them. Want to come?"

"Ah, I'm sure that's intrusive."

"Nah, we're not very private people—obviously."

"Um… okay," I responded, and followed him out the door. In my defense, I was bored and wanted to know what was going on. I probably should've just stayed in my room and not have gone down at all, but something in the talk with James had changed my opinion of the Weasleys slightly. Slightly being the operating word.

We walked up toward the hospital wing and saw Riley White in one of the beds in the far corner of the room. A woman who bore a striking similarity to Riley was standing over his bed, her face white with shock. She was obviously his mother. I went and stood next to James and saw that Riley was asleep and looked more or less okay; just a slight bit pale.

Madam Pomfrey came out of the hospital wing and took in all the people inside. "Someone will have to leave. There are too many visitors," she said promptly.

The woman sniffled. "I'll go. He's been sleeping the whole time I've been here anyhow. Is there a coffee lounge?"

"Of course, Mrs. White, follow me."

I watched as the woman walked out, slightly unbalanced on her very high heels. I looked back over at Riley, who had one eye open and was watching his mother as well. I poked James in the side. He started and looked at me in utter shock, apparently not realizing that I had come. I shook my head and pointed at Riley.

"Riles, dude! What the bloody hell?" James said loudly.

"Shut the fuck up man. My mother will think I'm awake."

"Why are you pretending?" Rose asked.

"None of your business Rose," James snapped.

"Because she's irritating when I get into trouble. Hovering and peckish," he told Rose. "Did you know Scorpius Malfoy stopped over?"

Everyone, except for me, turned to him in shock. "Did he do this to you?" James asked immediately, his face getting red.

"I'll fucking kill that death eater spawn!" Fred said, shaking his fist. That was a pretty harsh and serious accusation, but I wasn't about to point it out.

"He didn't do it to him!" Rose objected. Everyone stared at her. "Well he's a prefect, isn't he? I did rounds with him last night. We found Riley together."

"Yeah, I just pretended to go to sleep because it was pretty awkward. He kind of just stood around for a moment, asked Madam Pomfrey if I was okay, and then left," Riley said.

"What happened, Riley? Who did this to you?" Fred asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.

I watched his brown eyes quickly avert and he began to play with a string on his bedcovers. "It's really nothing. I deserved it, and end of story. I don't feel like talking about it."

"Rose, Al, and Eve—sorry Eve—can you guys leave so we can find out what happened?" James asked us with authority. I was just about to turn around when I heard Riley object.

"No, I don't want to talk about it. Actually, I'm sorry guys, but I'd truly rather be left alone," Riley said, looking around apologetically. Everyone stood up to leave then, James and Fred a bit hesitant, concern clear upon their faces. "Except Rose. Will you stay?"

The look of surprise on everyone's face was priceless; especially Rose's.

**A/N: Before you all start throwing jinxes my way, I know I left you hanging. But, more coming soon! Love you all :) & love Christy the most!**


	7. Liquored Up and Talking Freely

**Liquored Up and Talking Freely**

**Rose's POV**

I gave James and Fred an apologetic look in return to their glares and surprise as they left the hospital wing. I watched Al walk out with Eve and wondered what she was doing with them. Was she finally starting to warm up?

"Rose, I wanted to thank you," Riley said. I turned to him. Oh, that's what this was about. "Seriously, that was good of you."

"Riles, I wasn't going to leave you there," I said with a smile.

"I know but still."

"Riley… who did this to you?" I asked, frowning and sitting on the edge of his bed. He did something surprising then, and took my hand in his, closing his eyes.

"I can't tell you, Rose. I want to, but it was my fault. And I don't blame him."

"You're probably wrong."

He chuckled, his eyes still closed. "Rose I like you."

"You've said."

"No," he opened his eyes and looked right at me, "I really like you."

**Eve's POV**

"Thanks for coming," James said to me, while we were sitting in the hall outside of the hospital wing.

"What?" I was surprised by his thanks. My intentions didn't involve showing support or concern for my new… acquaintance.

"You didn't have to come, and you did. It was nice."

"Um… yeah, well I have to go," I said suddenly standing up. He looked confused.

"Alright. It is Saturday though—no classes."

"Yeah, but—"

"Never mind I don't want to pry. But Eve, I'm throwing a party tonight, 6 o'clock? Meet me in the common room?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," I said hesitantly.

"It _is_ a good idea. We'll go as friends, I promise."

"Alright," I said, feeling strange.

I spent that afternoon sitting on an armchair in the empty common room staring into the fire. Lou was purring in my lap, and as I stroked him, I thought about the strange feeling I had while talking to James. It felt good to trust people. It was better, I was less lonely, and thought about my mother less around these Weasleys. Maybe I had misjudged them. They seemed genuinely friendly. True, they were nosy, but it was a slight bit charming. They weren't nosy to be nosy. They were nosy because they wanted to care.

It was a novel feeling.

It was time for me to try and change. This was my chance. I didn't have anyone to take care of except myself, and maybe it was time to do just that. My grades weren't suffering, and I had spare time. I resolved to try. I resolved to try and be a better person, and to try and trust. Because these red heads were showing me that not everyone is selfish and only looking out for themselves.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked okay—normal, I suppose. I pulled one strand of hair loose from my ponytail, trying to curl it around my finger. I don't even know why I was putting in so much effort.

"I know a charm."

I turned and saw one of my roommates, wrapped in a towel, her hair soaking wet and her face rubbed in a green cream. "Uh, what?" I wasn't doing this whole makeover attitude correctly.

"I know a charm. To curl your hair, if you'd like." I nodded, a bit perplexed and unsure of what to do. But she smiled at me and picked up her wand off the dresser. "I'm Laney, by the way. Laney Sanders."

"Eve," I muttered. She lifted her wand to my hair and muttered something under her breath. A few strands instantly curled and shined in the light. She kept repeating herself till every strand was curled.

"You have beautiful hair, Eve. It's such a nice, raven black. Can I do something else?" Laney asked, stepping back to view her handy work.

"Um, alright." I was scared. I had never really done anything to my hair. She lifted her wand and did some intricate hand and wrist movements. After a moment, she pulled away.

"So what do you think?"

My hair was glinting with a slight yellow in the dim light of the dormitory, making it look like I had golden inlayed highlights. I moved my head in a few angles, watching my hair catch the light and make the slightest of patterns on the mirror. It was beautiful. I turned to Laney, unsure of how to express this.

"Thank you. It's so—"

"Simple, but it'll catch anyone's eye," she finished for me. I nodded. "Here, let me introduce you to the other girls."

"I really—" I started uncomfortably.

"Eve, this is Dona, Reed—well her name is Agatha, but we call her Reed—anyway, and this is Liz and this Renee." I nodded at everyone, not being able to totally forget that they had been the same girls to whisper about me my first week. But I swallowed it down and tried to keep an open mind.

Agatha, or Reed, drew her wand and pointed out to her own closet. It burst open and a few articles of clothing flew toward me. "You're my size," she said simply.

"Thanks, Agatha," I said.

"Look," she said, standing and walking over to me. She took her skirt from me and held it against my body. "I know you're new here, so I'll give you a pass." I looked at her, slightly confused. "People here call me Reed. Only my father calls me Agatha. It's a horrid name. I mean, do I look like an Agatha?" I took in her dirty blonde dreadlocks and her heavily lined eyes and decided no, she did not. She grinned at me and pressed the blouse into my hand. "You're going to look hot at this party. And you're going with us."

"What?" Renee asked. Everyone looked toward her. She was watching me however. She was beautiful. Her eyes were a deep green and her hair was a sandy color—she looked like sunshine Barbie. Her eyes were cold though, and held mine in contempt. "Well, she's been nothing but horrid and judgmental. Why should we extend friendship?"

"Renee, she's new," Liz said quietly.

"Doesn't make her entitled to be a bitch."

"I understand," I said, before anyone else could say anything. "No I do. You can have your clothes back, Reed—"

"Don't you dare," Reed said, cutting me off. "Renee, I'm sorry, but I don't agree. She's trying to make a change."

"Fine, then you and whoever else can be her chum." She stood up and walked out without another glance. No one else moved. But then Dona stood and everyone stared at her.

"Sorry. It's not personal," she said to me, before leaving behind Renee.

"Eve, don't worry about Renee. They're just a bit sore and hold grudges longer than us," Laney said, smiling at me. "Now go and change and we're going to go."

"I'm supposed to meet James in the common room," I said. The frowns on their faces were prominent.

"You're going with James then? Romantically?"

"No, no, just as friends," I remedied quickly. They looked relieved.

"Ah, well in that case, we'll all meet Potter in the common room with you. I haven't gotten a chance to kill him yet." Liz said.

"What's he done?" I asked, curious.

"He dated Renee once upon a time," Laney said.

"Try all last year," Reed interjected.

"Oh?" I asked, intrigued. "What happened?"

"He dumped her out of the blue. Just one day, after a year, decided that she wasn't for him and left her on the curb, and started chasing some other girl—Henrietta from Ravenclaw? Anyway, then Renee left the Quidditch team, and Gryffindor started losing, because she's the best keeper we ever had," Laney said, pulling a loose string from my hem.

"Renee was horribly heartbroken. I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but she's really not a horrible person. Maybe it's because you're new…" Liz said.

"It's obvious," Reed said, pulling a dress over her body.

"What is?" I asked.

"Why she doesn't like Eve. James like… loves Eve, doesn't he?" Reed grinned at the blush creeping up my cheeks.

"But I don't like him like that," I tried to explain.

"Yeah, well tell she's not completely over him. So it's just the fact that he likes you."

I frowned. But then I realized that I didn't care if she liked me or not. It's not like I did anything wrong. I was guiltless. It was only slightly regretful, because I kind of liked the feeling of making friends. We walked down together and if James was surprised to see me amidst other people, he didn't show it.

"Hello," he said, flashing a charming smile around the group. "You all look beautiful!" They all mumbled a strained hello and he led the way. The group was tense and silent and it was a relief to see James slow down in front of a very blank stretch of wall. He turned to us. "Alright, everyone stay silent." He turned back and closed his eyes. His lips moved but I couldn't hear anything. We waited and after a moment, a huge ornate door appeared on the wall.

"What?" I gasped. Everyone around me giggled, probably having seen this before. James turned and gave me a kind smile.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. It turns into anything you ask it to. I came earlier and made a room for a party, and told everyone I want here, the password. If you come here and think it three times, then it will open to the right door.

"Wow," I said, thoroughly impressed with the castle. "How did you find it?"

"I didn't, my dad did," James said. He reached over and took the handle of the door and swung it open.

"Potter, you've outdone yourself," Laney said, stepping inside, followed by the rest of the girls. He definitely had outdone himself. There were already a huge amount of people here. One quick glance and I could confirm that they were Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students. There was no one under third year. Music was booming from an unseen place and seemed to permeate through the room. People were dancing, firewhiskeys in hand. Bubbles that never seemed to pop floated around the room and there was a great smell, despite the number of people.

"How'd you get the alcohol?" I asked James, who was hanging behind with me.

"I have my ways, Martin." He held onto my elbow gently and pulled me inside. "Want a drink?"

"I'd love a drink," I said, smiling genuinely. Firewhiskey was one of my favorites. I had my vices, and alcohol was one of them. I was always careful never to drink around my mother, because she needed me to be active. She was a full time job. But on the rare weekends that my mother went out and didn't come home, I took a drink from her cabinet, played some music, and forgot about everything for a while. James had a drink in my hand within the second and brought me out to the dance floor.

"No, I don't dance!" I said, pulling away from him, mortified at his sudden movements against my body. He laughed and led me to a seating area, where a few other people were milling around, including Renee.

"Potter," she said coldly to James, not even bothering to acknowledge me.

"Renee."

"You've met Eve, right? She lives in your—"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Renee, what is your problem?" James asked, angrily.

"Look, I don't care if she likes me or not—" I began, but they didn't seem to hear me.

"You're my problem, Potter, get out of my face," Renee said coolly.

"Alright, I've had enough. Or have you actually started believing your own lies? The ones that I have allowed you to get away with because I'm slightly decent," James hissed. He seemed very, very angry. I had no idea what he was talking about. I took a swig of my drink, trying to make myself look busy.

I saw Renee's eyes dart nervously to me. "You wouldn't," she said quietly, staring at James as if she had never seen him before. He was quiet, and returned her gaze.

"I wouldn't, you're right. I couldn't. So you're safe," James said quietly. He then pulled me aside. "Eve, there's another sitting area across the room if you'd like to sit there instead. I think I'm going to get another drink."

"I'm fine here," I said. "It really doesn't bother me. I don't give a shit who likes me or not." James grinned.

"I like your honesty." He disappeared into the crowd, and I collapsed into a sofa cushion tucked into a corner away from all the people. I don't know how many firewhiskeys I drank. Everytime I finished, the bottle would refill itself. My mind was becoming very muddled and everything seemed funny.

Especially when James staggered over, grinning broadly, his cheeks flushed. "I cannot believe you haven't stepped out onto the dance floor yet, Eve!"

"Yes well, it would be dangerous for everyone around me if I did that," I said, with a slight giggle. James's eyes went wide.

"Oh my, was that a laugh I heard?" I nodded, finding this accusation hysterical. "Well in that case," James continued, "dancing is inevitable." He took my hand and dragged me to the floor. He felt so good dancing against me, and I knew I looked ridiculous, but I kept dancing. Or at least, I kept doing what felt good to me.

"Hey, look, it's Rose," I said, probably slurring a bit. She looked beautiful and flushed, dancing with a handsome blonde guy. Not too close, but obviously dancing with him.

**Rose's POV**

I had too much to drink. After Riley told me what he told me, I did such a cowardly thing. I bolted. I found Scorpius and hid away with him for a while. Scorpius didn't know about anything that happened. I only told him that Riley was alright. And then I remembered James's party and told Scorpius the password. I made him promise to meet me.

When I got there, I drank plenty of alcohol. I wasn't one to usually drink, but Riley's words were bothering me. I felt so guilty for sprinting away. If something like that had happened to me—I shuddered. And what James and Fred think. There were too many complicated reasons not to.

But yet, there were definitely reasons to.

And for every reason to, I drank some more. Until I spotted Scorpius, I made a beeline for him, and just started dancing. It felt good to not worry about anything, and just lose myself in the music that seemed to permeate through the air. Or at least it did, before I felt myself being thrown aside. Dizzy, I pushed myself back up and saw James, Fred, Al, and Hugo crowded around Scorpius, and every single person in the room had gone silent. Even the music had stopped.

"Who invited you, scum?" James hissed. Shit, shit, shit, I couldn't let this happen. "This is my party, and I gave out passwords. You can't trick the Room of Requirement either." Everyone was quiet. Scorpius's lip was bleeding, but his demeanor was surprisingly calm.

"Well?" Fred spat.

"He probably used dark magic to force it out of someone," James said.

"That's a bit far-fetched," Al said reasonably. "I mean, why waste it on that?"

"I don't really give a shit how he got here, what I want to know is what the hell he was doing touching my sister." Hugo said this very forcefully, and I took a moment to gape in both awe and horror over his protective side. Timid Hugo was actually tough. I shook out of it and tried to stand. This damn alcohol. I felt someone pull me to my feet and gave a scared looking Lily a smile. It must've come out a grimace, because she gave me an even more scared look.

"Stop it, all of you!" someone yelled. Everyone turned to look at me. Oh, apparently I was the one who yelled.

"Look at her, she's flat out drunk. Malfoy, were you taking advantage of my precious cousin? Because if you were, there will be hell to pay," James growled, his wand dangerously close to Scorpius's heart.

"I invited him," someone said. Once again, I realized it was me. The silence, this time, you could hear it. It rang of disbelief and shock, betrayal and humor, and anger. I caught Scorpius's eye, and he looked sorry. I wasn't sorry. I was glad it was out that we were friends. It was stupid to have kept a secret like that for so long.

"Party's over folks!" Al yelled, probably after viewing the insanity that was about to occur. "Sorry, nothing to see here. Back to your dormitories, I'm a prefect!"

"No you're not!" A cheeky third-year yelled from the crowd.

"I am!" The booming voice of the seventh year Ravenclaw prefect, John McCarthy, rang out. "Everyone out!" People began grudgingly filing out, some stealing alcohol. I remained standing against the wall, not taking my eyes off of James's angry ones. Scorpius was still on the floor, nursing his lip, but remaining collected.

"Eve, stay," I heard Al stay. I wondered what that was about. Why would she even care? But I decided that it was probably less pressing right now.

"Did you drug her, you little fucker?" Fred asked, pulling Scorpius up by his collar.

"No, put him down! He's been my best friend for years now!" I shouted. Scorpius fell to the ground very suddenly. And then everything went black.

**A/N: I apologize for my cliffhangers, but how else will I keep you coming?; also my lovely beta deserves an extra shout-out for dealing with my crazy-ness with a tummy ache! Love you :) + the reviews I got were fantastic! I love you all3**


	8. Morning After

**Morning After**

Light. Light was not my friend. It was piercing through my skull, not caring that I was moments away from dying from a headache. I groaned and turned over on my side. This bed was so huge and comfy. But the light, that light… where was it even coming from? I opened one eye, trying hard to ignore the pounding in my head.

I remembered Scorpius and shot up in the bed. I was in a Gryffindor dormitory, but definitely not mine.

"Where is Scorpius?" I whispered to the seemingly empty room.

"I'm not sure," someone's familiar voice responded softly. I turned and saw Eve, holding a mug and some pills in her hand.

**Eve's POV**

She looked like hell. And the look on her face wasn't making anything much better. "What are you doing here?" she asked, a frown apparent on her face. She flinched at the sound of her own voice. I sat down gently next to her.

"Well, seeing as how your family is too enraged to speak with you, I took you over myself. Coffee and Advil?" I asked, offering her the mug and pills in my hand.

She stared at me. "What's Advil?"

"Muggle hangover magic," I said, forcing a smile. It's hard to smile at someone who looks like she thinks you've transformed into a troll's left testicle. "Look Rose, I'm making an effort here. Trying to _change_. Take it or leave it."

She looked me up and down. After about a minute of this scrutiny, she chugged down the mug of coffee without flinching at the heat and took the pills too. And then she immediately threw it back up. "Yeah, I probably should've warned you about that." I vanished the mess with my wand. "You're supposed to go slow."

"Look, what happened? Where's Scorpius?" she asked, looking pale as ever.

"I'm not sure about that actually. See, I was pretty drunk myself, just not as gone as you. I hold it down better."

"I'm sure," she said. "But I need to find Scorpius."

"I can come with you," I offered as she stumbled up. She looked like she was considering this.

"Fine. I could use your help," she said. "I need you to go into the seventh year boy's dormitory."

"What?"

"I'd do it, but it's probably better if you do it," Rose said.

I breathed a deep sigh and nodded. "Tell me what I have to do."

About a half an hour later, I found myself creeping up the boy's staircase and stopping in front of the seventh year dorms. Giving a huge sigh and questioning my motives, I pushed the door open. The stench of alcohol hit me, and I knew that I wasn't going to have any of them wake up any time soon. They were all far too gone. I saw Fred hanging off his bed, a mess of sheet and limbs. On the beds on either side of Fred were two boys I didn't know. I then glanced to the next bed and saw James snoring, with nothing but boxers on. I know it was silly, but I couldn't stop staring. He was fit, probably from the Quidditch. He turned in his sleep, covering his body from view and I blushed in embarrassment. I located his trunk and inched toward it, careful not to make a sound.

I opened it and searched for what Rose described. I was to find a blank, but very old, piece of seemingly useless parchment. The trunk wasn't neat at all, and I kept looking up, afraid that James would wake up with all the moving around I was doing. I finally came across a piece of parchment, old, and blank, just like Rose described. I turned it over in my hands and saw nothing, shrugged, and stood up. One more look around, and I quietly exited, clutching the stupid parchment against my body.

She was waiting downstairs, and I gave it to her.

"Thank you, Eve, this is exactly what I was looking for!" Rose said, "Ouch,that hurt."

"Yeah, try not to yell," I said, kindly. It was easier, seeing as how Rose had warmed up to me. "So what's the big deal with a piece of parchment?" Rose took her wand out, pointed it at said piece of parchment, and said "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Immediately, something like ink seemed to flow out of her wand and out on the parchment, spreading into thin lines.

"It's called the Marauder's Map. It's a map of Hogwarts. It shows every place in the school, including secret passageways. But what's even more special is the fact that it shows the people inside Hogwarts."

"Where they are?" I whispered, awed at the little labeled dots moving around, with all the little names. After a quick glance, I notice that most of the little dots are in dormitories or the Great Hall. Some were out in the grounds.

"Yep. Now, will you look for Scorpius? I'll look at the library, and you check the Slytherin dung—ah, he's not in the library—then damnit where could he be—"

"Rose, he's at the astronomy tower," I said quietly, pointing at highest tower in the castle. Rose did a double take and leaned in to take a closer look.

"What in Merlin's name is he doing there?"

"Well, let's find out," I said.

**Rose's POV**

We walked up the staircase in silence, and I was trying desperately to avoid any relatives, even though Eve assured me all the male ones, minus Al and Hugo (of whom she didn't know about), were fast asleep and wouldn't wake up for quite a while.

But even then, I found that I couldn't help but look around anxiously every few moments. And it was with relief that I saw the end of the winding steps of the staircase leading to the astronomy tower. But it didn't last long. Scorpius was lying on the floor, bloodied up and eyes closed.

It was like a horrible repeat of Riley. I stood there, like a deer in headlights, and watched as Eve ran over to Scorpius, leaned over and began sweeping her wand up and down Scorpius's unconscious form. I hadn't even realized that she knew Healer spells. Then again, she was a year ahead. Finally, I felt how useless I was, and ran over to help.

Eve sat on the floor next to him and actually smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" I said, hysterically. "This is just like Riley—"

"Well I wasn't there," she began, "but I'm going to say with some certainty that Scorpius is not nearly as bad as Riley was. Pretty sure just hypothermia and a few bruises and a nosebleed."

I slid down to my knees next to Scorpius in relief. "Can you wake him?"

"Yes," Eve said, raising her wand. "_Enervate._"

Scorpius opened his eyes. "Scorpius!" I exclaimed. I reached out a hand, but he didn't take it. Instead, he pushed himself up by himself. "Scorpius?" I asked, worried at his angry expression. He was quiet and didn't meet my eyes. "Where do you hurt?"

His glare was vicious. "Where do I hurt, Weasley? I hurt _everywhere_."

"Scorpius I—"

"You are the most selfish person I know, Weasley. Get the hell out of my sight, I'll be fine."

I stared at him, completely shocked. I had no idea where this was coming from. "Scorpius, what are you talking about?"

He turned and stared at me. "You don't know what I'm talking about?"

"No, Scorpius…"

"You invited me to a party, got drunk, completely used me for whatever was upsetting you—which by the way, I could tell—and let me get beat the fuck up in the process," Scorpius spat at me.

"Scorpius, I didn't mean to—"

"Rose, you never mean to. But I'm here, at the top of the _fucking_ astronomy tower, with hypothermia and one and half black eyes!" Scorpius bellowed, cutting me off completely. We stared at each other for about a whole minute, before I heard Eve clear her throat. I walked up to Scorpius, who flinched away with. I think he might have taken my heart in that moment. I took his hands.

"Scorpius, I love you. You are my best friend. I would never try and hurt you. I'm sorry about what happened. But please, please don't do this. Don't alienate me, Scorpius. I'm not like my family. I won't ever do something like this to you," I said, trying to look him in his eyes. But, he never looked back at me. Her eyes were cast downward, and he maintained his angry face.

"Leave me alone, Weasley." And with one last look at him, I turned around and left, fighting back tears.

**Eve's POV**

I watched Rose go with mingled pity and a very small feeling that she might have had it coming to her. But I turned back to Scorpius, more concerned that his hypothermia might not be gone. "Are you cold?" I asked. He looked surprised to see me, as if he hadn't noticed my presence at all.

"Why are you here? Aren't you Potter's girlfriend?" He asked defensively.

"Definitely not," I said, not being able to quell the grin forming on my face, "but even if I was, I would never condone what he did." He looked slightly less distrustful and looked curious.

"Well, I am a bit curious actually," he admitted, smiling slightly.

"Damnit, I thought the hypothermia spell had worked," I said, pulling out my wand once more.

"You fixed me up?" He asked. "I assumed it was Rose."

"No, that was me. But apparently, I didn't do a great charm," I waved a heating spell in his direction and he rubbed his arms in the sudden heat.

"Thank you, Eve."

"And there are a few bruises I missed, but I got most of them. I'm afraid I don't know how to treat black eye," I said apologetically.

"That's okay, Madam Pomfrey will clear that up," Scorpius said. "We could've used you on rounds that night with White."

"Ah, but his were pretty serious," I said, frowning. Scorpius made to get up, but stumbled and almost fell to the ground. I rushed forward and offered my arm. He took it and I helped him down the stairs. We walked slow, not saying much, mainly because I was using up all my energy to support Scorpius down the stairs.

"So why do they hate you?" I panted, after there was only one more set of stairs to descend.

"You actually don't know?" He asked. I shook my head. "Well, I'm glad it hasn't reached America yet then."

"Are you talking about the whole _your parents are death-eaters_ thing? Because first of all, they aren't anymore, and secondly, you were never one. Oh and a third thing—the war is over. So what is it? What'd you do?"

"You summarized it pretty well," he said, with a pained-sounding laugh.

"Wait… _that's _whythey hate you?"

"Pretty much," he said. "Unless they're jealous of my sexy hair and bright gray eyes." I couldn't help but laugh. Believe me, I tried.

"Alright, well I've got my own line of rotten genes. I'm not going to judge you," I said. He looked at me then, and we seemed to have some sort of understanding. He smiled at me, and gave him a tentative smile back. I might've just made a real friend.

"Here's the hospital wing," I said, interrupting the intensity. He looked over and nodded, limping inside. "I'll uh, check up on you later."

**Rose's POV**

I didn't know where to go. I stood in the Great Hall, looking out at the tables, and wishing that someone would talk to me. I saw James and Fred, but they weren't looking at me, even though I knew they saw me. I stood there, fighting tears.

"Rosey?" I turned to look at Teddy and felt immediate relief. There was at least one relative left on this godforsaken planet who didn't judge me.

"Teddy," I choked out. His brow furrowed and he steered me out of the great hall and onto the grounds.

"Tell me everything," he said, after we reached he bench built by the lake. And so I sat next to him and did just that. I didn't leave anything out. And as I knew, he nodded, gasped, laughed in all the right places. And he didn't interrupt me once. I loved him for it. But once I was finished, it had sounded like there was a lot he had to say.

"So, Riley likes you. Do you like Riley?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure if he likes me because I'm a comfort through what he's going through, or he likes me for the right reasons," I said. Teddy nodded, looking thoughtful.

"That's a good answer, but not the answer to my question. Do you like him?"

"I could like him," I said tentatively. "He's a sweetheart. In fact, I definitely think I do."

"And Scorpius, do you like him?"

"Ted! He's my best friend, nothing more, nothing less. Well I guess, nothing less is stretching it at my current situation," I said, feeling miserable.

"Aw honey, you'll apologize and fix things. What you did wasn't very good," Teddy said, giving me a smile. "But it wasn't unforgivable."

"Thanks," I sighed. I looked around, aware that we weren't very isolated any longer. A few sixth year girls from Gryffindor were milling around. It made me think of Eve, and I turned to Ted. "You know Eve was with me when I went to go look for Scorpius? And she was there at the party last night, dancing with James. Something's changed about her."

Ted looked worried. "I found out what was going on with her," he said. "But I'm not sure that I can tell you."

"I won't tell anyone," I said, curious.

"Yeah I don't think so. Probably not a good idea," he said.

"Give me a hint?" I pleaded.

"It has to do with drugs and mother issues. It isn't quite what you think though," Teddy said. "Maybe I can tell you after she graduates."

"Drugs sound serious," I said, my eyes widening.

"Don't repeat anything I said," Ted said. "That reminds me, have you started studying for your O.W.L.s? Even with all the distractions?" I glared at him.

"Do you even know me?" I asked. He laughed and ruffled my hair. "How's Victoire?"

"She's fine. She likes her job at Gringotts with her Fleur for now, but she's looking into more. Maybe ambassador positions at the Ministry. Everyone knows we could use some peace between countries. Especially after all the tension with the countries who were hiding Death Eaters."

"What about Dom? I've missed her after she graduated, and I didn't see her at all this summer. Even at Harry's party."

"She's got a modeling job which makes her travel from country to country," Ted explained. "But you know she loves it."

"Of course she is. Foreign boys are her thing," I said, smiling.

"So, want me to give James detention? I have the authority now, and it would be a laugh."

"No, I don't want that. But would you talk to him? He listens to you," I said. "Scorpius isn't evil, even if his family was. He deserves a chance. Anyway, it isn't like I'm dating him." Teddy nodded.

"Alright, well, I've got to go and prepare tomorrow's classes. Feel better, Rose. I'll see you in class." I nodded and watched him go, glad that he was in my weird family. At least there was someone sensible around.

**Renee's POV**

I smiled to myself. This was the kind of information that I had been looking for; the kind that would destroy Evelyn Martin. Lucky for me, Professor Lupin hadn't learned the art of subtlety quite yet. I slipped away from the rest of the sixth year girls and their silly banter, and went to the pitch to come up with a plan.

**A/N: Lots of dialogue, I apologize, but there's a lot of stuff that needs to get covered. Christy's promptness is divine! Working on the next chapter. Love you 3**


	9. The Outing

**The Outing**

**Eve's POV**

It was about a week later, and thankfully, the week had gone by without much incident. I was in the library, returning a book to Madam Pince Moonstones for my latest potions essay, when James tapped me on the shoulder.

"I haven't seen you much," he said. I glanced behind him and saw Riley and Fred. Riley had become much better, and was healthy as a horse again. Madam Pomfrey really did know her stuff. I made a mental note to go and learn some tricks from her book.

"Well, my schoolwork has been catching up on me," I whispered, as Pince handed me back the book to place on the shelf. James followed me there.

"So, I heard that you brought Scorpius to the hospital wing. Is that why you're avoiding me?" James asked.

"Well, he made a full recovery, no thanks to you," I said, maliciousness creeping into my voice.

"You can't be taking the death eater's side."

"James, why don't you just get your head out of your ass for one second and think—"

But I was interrupted by a very offended and very angry Madam Pince. "OUT, OUT BOTH OF YOU! THERE WILL BE NO PROFANITY IN MY LIBRARY!" And she literally chased us out of the library and into the hallway.

"So," James said, gasping, "you were saying something about my head being in my ass?"

"Yes," I continued, "there was no reason for you to do that. He's not a death eater. His father was. And the war is over," I said. "And Rose isn't dating him. They're just friends. So calm down, will you?"

"They're not dating?"

"No."

"But he's still a Malfoy."

"Potter, take a second and look back into your past. Just yours, not your forefather's. Now, try to remember when Scorpius Malfoy did anything to you." James frowned at my request and seemed confused.

"But my father—"

"Yes. Your father. Not you. And has your father forgiven Mr. Malfoy?" I asked, getting increasingly frustrated.

"I don't know."

"Are you saying that there's a possibility that the great Harry Potter is holding a grudge?" I asked James.

"Well, I guess not."

"And do you love your cousin?"

"Yes."

"Well that's more important than any other bullshit reason tohate him." James opened his mouth to respond, but after a moment, closed it. "Well, if that's all. I'm going to go and work on Transfiguration. I think you should too." I turned and began to walk away, when James yelled out behind me, "I'm not finished with you Martin!" A little smile might have found its way to my face.

There was a tapping on my windowpane, and I stood to see Hedwig, James's owl at the window. I looked around for James, but he was nowhere to be found. And I realized what this meant. Hedwig had come back with a letter for me. From my mother. I took a secretive glance around the common room and saw only Laney, Liz, and Dona sitting with Fred and Riley in another corner. I stood and opened the window and quietly untied the scroll attached to Hedwig's leg.

I stole away to a corner of the common room and unrolled the letter.

_Evelyn,_

_I got your letter a while ago. I apologize for how late the response is. I was mad at you, furious, angry, hated you. I thought you had betrayed me, gotten tired of me, and run away just as your father had. But I know the truth. I ran your father away, just like I ran you away. I've been sober for a very long time now, and I have been seeing the therapist here. We've sorted through a lot of my problems, and though I'm not near where I should be, I realized that it was time to write you._

_I love you, and I know that it doesn't make up for the past years I've given you hell and not been anything like a mother to you, but I hope it counts for something. I cannot see you yet, and I'm thankful for this. I want you to see me strong, completely healed, and ready to be your friend, if not your mother. I would like a chance to get to know you again. _

_Thank you for your so-called carelessness. You've saved my life. This place has saved my life. You've said that you'll come back and "resume responsibility", but this is not your responsibility. Your only responsibility is to be happy and educate yourself to become the person I never was. _

_I will see you sometime soon, and I hope you do not stop writing. _

_I'm sorry, once again. Although I know it will take much more than that. But for now, it's all I can say._

_Love,_

_Your Mother_

Tears fell from my eyes and splashed onto the paper, smearing all of my mother's shaky handwriting. It was the first time I had ever heard I love you. Well, in this case, seen. But it was still a first. And I didn't know what to do except sit there and keep crying. They were silent, but I felt it twisting my gut and threatening to spill over. And it was such strange tears. They were of joy rather than sadness. And maybe not even joy. Relief. There was overwhelming relief.

"Martin? Why are you crying?" I looked up and saw James standing over me, frowning, his eyes flickering back and forth between my eyes and my letter.

"I'm not—" I said, drying my eyes as quick as I could, "Dust, in my eye," I lamely choked out.

"You're lying."

"How observant. Go away," I said.

"Eve," he started. I realized where he was going with this and decided to head him off.

"Look James, I'm your friend. And you're my only friend. But I'm not ready to tell my secrets to you, alright?" He looked about ready to say something back, and I realized that more action was needed. "I don't need saving, James. I can save myself."

He looked surprised. "Ok Eve. But if you need someone, I'm here."

"I'll keep that mind," I responded, not entirely truthfully.

"Professor Longbottom?" I stood at the doorway to his office. He turned and gave me a huge smile.

"Hello, Eve, how are you?"

"Good actually. I wanted to show you this." I handed him the letter from my mother. He gestured to a seat in front of him, which I took, and he sat in his own chair and began reading. I sat there, watching him, my palms sweating and my heart beating too fast. But I needed advice or something of the sort. And he seemed to be the only one who I could think of as trustworthy enough. He had been kind to me and Hannah was the one who had first treated me like a human being here.

He finished reading and looked up at me, folding the letter and placing it back in front of me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just wanted to show someone," I said. "I don't have to feel guilty anymore."

"Never feel guilty, Eve. Your mother and your father are people who've made their own mistakes. You never added to any of that."

"And the craziest part is that I finally believe you, Professor."

I left his office in high hopes. But I should've known that these things don't last.

"Evelyn Martin? The headmistress gave me this to give you," a first year said, handing me a thick parchment, which I recognized as McGonagall's parchment. I nodded and took the parchment, unfolding it.

_Your presence is requested in my office immediately. The password is felino._

_Headmistress McGonagall_

**Rose's POV**

The rumors were flying. And they were flying like wildfire.

"Rose?" James approached me, and I couldn't help but show my surprise.

"James…" I said hesitantly.

"Look, I'm sorry about all that," he said, looking sheepish. I frowned.

"You beat him up, left him at the top of the astronomy tower, haven't talked to me for weeks, and ruined our friendship and all you can say is sorry?"

"I—" James looked at a loss for words. I turned to leave, before he caught my shoulder with his hand. "Rose, I need you right now. I need you to do something for me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because we're family. And no matter what, we need to forgive each other. It was hard for me to understand you and Malfoy, and seeing him all over you like that, I just lost my senses and it was hard, Rose, please understand."

I looked at him hard in the face, and realized that he was being genuine. "Fine, but you have to make it up to me. And Scorpius."

He flinched at the name, and I glared at him. "Fine."

"Good, now what do you need?"

"Are the rumors true?"

"About Eve? How should I know?" I asked.

"Because you're Rose Weasley. You know everything that goes on in this school," James said.

"I know some things, but I really shouldn't say anything—"

"Rose, I only just started to get close to her. If this stuff is true, I don't know what I'd do," James said.

"Well, Teddy told me some stuff, but I—"

"I won't tell a soul, Rose. I don't want Ted in trouble!" That was true, he was his god-brother after all.

"Fine," I whispered, grabbing his arm and leading him outside. We sat on the same bench I sat on with Teddy and told James what I knew.

"So she could be dealing drugs?"

"I guess, but from what I heard, it's her mother."

"Then she's probably into that stuff too."

"I don't know. She seemed pretty normal."

"Well, it's not like she'll grow another head or something."

"You seem like you want her to be a drug dealer."

"I wonder who she tried to deal to," James pondered, apparently not hearing my comment.

"It could just be a vicious rumor, James. Don't jump to assumptions. That's not fair.

"But then who else knows about her? It must have happened."

And then, that's when I saw Eve herself, walking briskly towards us, her face angry and defiant, with maybe a hint of a tear in her eye. "Eve?" I asked, as she walked by James and me, without glancing our way. She looked at me, and seemed to give a start.

"Rose, James," she said. Her eyes darted from my face to his. "So you heard?"

**Eve's POV**

I saw Rose nod out of the corner of my eye but was more aware of James's refusal to look at me. "And you believe it, James." I said this like a statement, and not a question. Because I already knew the answer. He didn't answer, and so I walked away, not sparing him a thought. If he wanted to assume things about me, then he could do that. It wasn't my problem. And it wasn't worth my time to explain myself. There was nothing to explain.

Someone must have been dealing, and Hogwarts thought it was the drug user's daughter. Which I guess would make sense. But since they had no proof, I was to be under surveillance. That meant being escorted from class to class, my mail being checked, and my room searched weekly. Which made me irritated beyond reason. People would stare and be curious, and my past seemed to be aching to burst open out of the envelope it had been locked in for so long. It was ironic, considering how I had just been about to rip up the entire envelope. My mind was almost free, almost guiltless. And now I was scared everything would come out.

**Rose's POV**

I felt terrible, watching her go. Even though she probably knew that I didn't really believe or not believe the rumor. Honestly, I had enough of my own problems to be worrying about anyone else's. There was Riley, who I was systematically avoiding, and very well I might add. Then there was Scorpius, who seemed to be doing what I was doing to Riley.

Now after it had been this many weeks, I had enough. And I realized that I needed to figure out this Riley business once and for all. And with no idea of my decision, I stood my ground when I saw him make a beeline for me.

"Rose?"

"Riley."

"Finally, you acknowledge me."

"Yes, well…"

"I admit I like you, and you don't even give me the dignity to—"

I kissed him, right on the lips. I pulled away after a moment, extremely nervous. "You couldn't do this a little earlier, so as not to drive me completely insane?" Riley asked. But a huge grin was apparent on his face, and I returned it with a smile of my own.

**N/A: Don't kill me.**


	10. Weasley Mission

**Weasley Mission**  
><strong>Eve's POV<strong>  
>The next few weeks of school were horrible. People pointed, stared, and scoffed. Some even came up to me on the odd occasion that there was no escort and asked me if I had anything for them. To this, I couldn't respond, but only glared. I felt myself go back to being withdrawn and angry, no matter what I did to fight it.<br>The person I was trying hard to become was slipping away again, just as I had been granted relief. It was ironic. Scorpius sought me out one evening, as I was sitting in the library, working on Transfiguration, being closely watched by Madam Pince.

"Hey Eve," he said, sitting down across from me.

"What do you want?" I snapped. "I don't have any drugs, I never did ok?"

"I—I don't want drugs," he said, sounding a bit surprised. I looked up at him and saw that he had the first set of kind eyes I had seen in a few weeks.

"Oh, well then what do you want?" I asked, trying to sound a bit softer.

"I wanted to find out if you're okay. I don't believe any of this stupidity. You don't seem like a coke or meth or whatever dealer. You look healthy and fine to me." I put my quill down on top of my finished essay.

"My mother was a dealer and a user," I said. There was a ringing silence after I said these words, and I realized I had said them aloud for the first time in my life. And I didn't tell an adult, but I told a peer. I looked up, expecting a look of loathing and disgust, even pity, but I was greeted with understanding.

"My family is a family of death eaters," he said. "So I get it."

"Thanks."

"So is that why they think you're a drug dealer?"

"I guess there was someone who is actually dealing, and they assumed it was me," I said. Scorpius looked a bit troubled.

"Maybe," he conceded. He looked up at me. "You know what, I've gotta check on some things. Meet me here this time tomorrow." I nodded, a bit confused, and watched him jet off.

**Rose's POV**  
>"Merlin, I can't get a moment alone with my cousin anymore?" James asked, sounding irritated but humorous. Riley grinned and pulled me closer to him.<p>

"Nope, she's all mine Jay." James made a vomiting motion and gave me a look. I rolled my eyes and extricated myself from Riley's hold.

"What?" I asked James, as soon as we were in a corner of the room.

"It's about Eve. She has been hanging out with Scorpius Malfoy. Isn't that bloke your friend? Can't you tell him to bugger off?" James asked, frowning.

"And why would you care who Eve hangs out with, James?" I asked, noting the strange feeling in my stomach.

"Why wouldn't I? She's my friend!"

"I think you took care of that when you accused her of being a _drug dealer_, James," I said. He looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, she did take that to heart. I want to fix it. I don't really think she's a drug dealer."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, no, but I want to give her the chance to explain."

"That's more like it James. You should always give your friends the benefit of doubt. That's what being a _friend_is."

"Yeah, but if she was dealing drugs—" James started.

"Then you would be supportive and help her through it, like Scorpius seems to be doing."

"Why aren't you and Malfoy friends anymore?"

"Because he decided not to be. And I stopped groveling."

"Good for you Rose, better there be no Malfoys in your life," James said. I shot him a glare, and he ruffled my hair, and headed out of the common room, probably in pursuit of Eve. I made my way back to Riley, feeling slightly jealous of Eve.  
>What was Scorpius doing with her? When had they even become friends? And why?<p>

**Eve's POV**  
>Scorpius was sitting across from me, helping me with the Herbology drawing we were supposed to be doing. I had mislabeled quite a few. I hated Herbology, it was my worst subject, but Scorpius was pretty much good at everything.<p>

"Eve, can I talk to you?" I looked up and saw James behind me. I shared a look with Scorpius before nodding and standing up.  
>"What?" We walked just outside the library, but still in sight of Madam Pince, just in case the great James Potter wanted some heroin.<p>

"I'm sorry."

"Right," I responded, not believing him at all.

"Listen, Rose had some important words of advice for me, and some of them were to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Oh how high and mighty of you," I retorted, turning away from him. He reached over and grabbed my arm.

"Don't be like that," he said, a slight plea in his voice. "I just got to be friends with you. I know about your mother and everything and I just wanted to—" But he didn't get much farther than that.

"You what?" I asked, my voice cold. He looked scared. "From whom did you find out?"

"Is there a problem?" Scorpius asked, coming out of the library towards us, his bag slung around his shoulders. My essay was still in his hand. He gave James a scathing look, for which I did not blame him for.

"No. James was just leaving," I said.

"Eve, please, I didn't mean to pry."

"Oh, so how did you find out? _By_ _accident_?"

"No, well I—someone might have told—"

"If you're not leaving, I'm leaving," I said, turning back to Scorpius and starting to walk away.

"Eve, don't do this!"

"Merlin, what a prick," Scorpius said.

"I really want to know who he heard it from," I said, "no one knows, except you—"

"And I'd never talk to that fucking—"

"—and the teachers. But which teacher would tell him? It's supposed to be—" And then it hit me. And I couldn't quite believe it, but it came together.

"Why does your face look like that?" Scorpius asked, waving his hand in front of my face.

"I just got it."

"Got what?"

"Professor Lupin told him."

"Why would he do that?"

"He's his godbrother."

"Ah," Scorpius said. "You're probably right. But there's not much you can do about it now."

"Oh yes I can. I don't care if he's a professor or not. He has to be confidential." I felt Scorpius's eyes on my back as I marched furiously toward the Great Hall, intending to find Professor Lupin, with my assigned escort, a seventh year prefect named Henry, hurrying behind me.

"Professor, I'd like a word," I whispered to him, once reaching the front table in the Great Hall. It was nearing the end of lunch but Lupin was still chatting with Flitwick and Slughorn. He looked surprised, but led the way into his office. His hair was a reddish color today, reminding of me of James, which added to my irritation further.

"Henry, I can take it from here. Take a seat. Would you like some tea?"

"No. What I would like," I began, still standing, but as calmly as I could have, "is to know the reason why you told James Potter my life story."  
>He looked taken aback. "I did no such thing, Miss Martin, I can assure you."<p>

"Then how else would he know?" I asked, my eyes narrowing. Lupin's eyes got  
>wide, as if in comprehension.<p>

"Rose," he mouthed, "She knew."

"What?"

"Rose Weasley knew and must have told him."

"How did she know?" I asked furiously. He sat, as if weary.

"I told her," he said, looking me straight in the face. "Because I was worried about you. You seemed to have no friends and you seemed to be very troubled—"

"So you told her that my mother dealt _drugs?_And that I was living here, basically like an orphan, at the fucking charity of Hogwarts?" I shot at him.

"Please watch your language, Eve, and no I did not say that. I didn't even tell her your mother was a drug dealer. I said that whatever was wrong with you was mom and drug issues. But I didn't put them together."

"Well Rose told James, who confronted me, and for some reason, I feel like the whole reason I'm on drug-alert is because of _you_, professor. I have never dealt drugs in my life."

"I never thought you were," he said, a little too patiently for my liking.

"Then why are there all these people babysitting me?"

"It's just a security measure," Teddy said.

"Oh and so the drug dealer's daughter gets accused? Professor Lupin, were your parents ever viewed badly?" He looked thoughtful.

"By some, I suppose. My father, especially."

"And if that same thing happened in your workplace, or while you were in school, would you think it's even slightly fair that you were immediately suspected?"

"I guess not."

"Well, there you go." He watched me and I had to avert my eyes. He was actually quite handsome.

"I will look into it," he said after a while.

"Thank you."

**Rose's POV**  
>"Riley," I murmured against his lips. We were behind one of the tapestries, which is cliché I know, but there was really nowhere else to go. And considering I was the prefect, no one would catch me. Until today, we had only snogged, even though it had been months. I was aware that Riley was a whole year older, and probably had much more experience, but I wasn't ready for where his hands were travelling.<p>

"Riley, stop," I said.  
>He groaned against me and pulled away, panting slightly. "Rose," he said gruffly, sounding slightly impatient.<p>

"I'm sorry. I'm not ready for all that," I said honestly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His face softened and he gathered me in his arms, before kissing me on the cheek, and pulling back the tapestry.

"So, are you ever going to tell me what's wrong with you?" Riley asked, stepping out into the deserted hallway. "Ever since you were with me, you've been acting so odd. And there was that whole James and Fred thing. They won't tell me what went down at that party."

"Nothing of significance," I assured him quickly. "And there's nothing wrong. I'm happy, that's all," I said, with only a slight tug of guilt. In actuality, I did feel bad, because I had rounds with Scorpius last night, and he refused to show up for nearly the millionth time in a row.

"Alright, if you're sure."

"I'm sure," I said. He walked me all the way to the third floor for Defense Against the Dark Arts before leaving for Arithmancy. I walked in and was immediately attacked by Teddy.

"You told James?" He asked in an urgent whisper. I did a double-take.

"Um… kind of," I said, feeling sheepish.

"Yeah, well my job is on the line if I don't make sure that I'm not the reason Evelyn Martin is being suspected unfairly for being a drug dealer."

"Ted, I'm so sorry! Did James tell her?"

"Yes, he did."

"I can't believe him."

"I can. He was worried about her."

"But why would he put your job on the line like that?"

"Rose, why would _you _put my job on the line like that?" He asked, frowning at me.

He looked disappointed and sad and I felt sick and guilty, looking at his green eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't realize that James would do that."

"Yeah, well, class is about to start. I suggest you sit down." I sat, without another word, and remained quiet for the rest of the class.

Scorpius was rounding the corner and heading straight for me. My hopes soared and were immediately shunted back down when I saw the angry look on his face. "You know, I was beginning to think that you weren't such a bad friend after all. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But what you did to Eve, well that is the definition of bad friend."

"What?" I asked, taken aback.

"I heard you told James about her. And you must've brought it to the attention of the entire school because she's being followed around and held under drug dealing suspicion," Scorpius said.

"But I—"

"And furthermore, I know _for a fact_ that there isn't, nor was there any, drug dealing or buying or using going on this year. And you know _how_I know that?"

"What? Scorpius, you're not—"

"I'm in Slytherin. If there were any drugs going around, I would know about them," he said, scowling. "So someone who knew about her mother made it up."

"I didn't, I wouldn't—"

"Then James would tell McGonagall that the person he likes a lot is using and selling drugs without any proof?"

"No, I didn't—"

"Then who else knows Weasel?" he growled. My heart dropped into my stomach. He meant it. That word. Weasel, rodent. I felt tears falling onto my face.

"Oi, get away from her!" I turned and saw Riley striding toward the pair of us, anger all over his face.

"Oh wonderful, it's your duffer of a boyfriend," Scorpius said, sounding bored. I turned back to look at Scorpius, whose face softened for an instant at the look on mine. But Riley arrived between us, pulling me behind him, before I could study it more.

"What did he do to you?" Riley asked fiercely, staring at Scorpius.

"Oh, Riley, is it? Why don't you just talk to me?" Scorpius asked, a slight grin on his face. I knew that grin. He was enjoying this and it irritated me.

"He didn't do anything, Rile," I said, trying to break up this fight. Riley turned to me and brought a hand to my face. I could hear Scorpius making gagging noises.

"But then why are you crying?"

"Because I might have messed up pretty badly. Riley, can we talk later? I need to sort this out."  
>He looked ready to object, but nodded, kissing me on the cheek and giving me a searching look before turning to walk away. I felt bad, really bad, but I had to do it. No one else had to know Eve's life story. And if Scorpius was right, which I'm sure he was, then we had to find out who did all this.<br>Sounded like a Weasley mission.  
>I turned back to Scorpius. "Wipe that grin off your face. I didn't spread the rumor, and I know James didn't breathe a word. So we are going to find out who did. It wasn't Ted either, before you suggest something as preposterous as that."<p>

"That sounds like the Rose Weasley I know," Scorpius said, with a small smile, this time a real one.

**N/A: FANGIRLS DON'T SLEEP3**


	11. The Second Outing

**The Second Outing**

**Eve's POV**

I was hiding, and not proud of it. If I wasn't in class, I was hiding in the library, or asleep in my bed. I took my meals and left with them before anyone could say anything. My escorts didn't really have much to do, and often slept off during their "drug duty" or whatever.

People had stopped talking about it completely, which was a relief. But I was too ashamed that my story had gotten around to venture out and see if it had. But one day, James cornered me in the library.

"You have got to stop hiding in here," he insisted.

"You have got to stop using that fucking map to stalk me," I snapped at him.

"Look, you can be mad at me all you want, but Rose wants to speak with you. Pretty urgently. And as I'm on the outs with Rose, I offered to get you to her somehow in exchange for my cousin back."

"Thanks for caring, James," I said sarcastically. He looked angry.

"You won't let me care about you."

That shut me up. I gathered up my books and followed him out of the library, making sure to stay close to his side. It was a Sunday evening though, and most of the students were outside on the grounds, so I didn't really have anything to worry about.

"So I expect you're really far ahead with all your schoolwork from being locked up in the library for weeks?"

"You thought right."

"Well Rose's Slytherin friend," James coughed a bit resentfully after he said this, "wants to come up a plan to prove that someone framed you."

"And how would _Scorpius_—yes he has a name—know that?"

"Apparently it's foolproof. But as we're here, you can hear for yourself."

"Explain," I said, not looking at anyone but Scorpius. He looked so out of place amidst Al, James, Fred, Hugo, Lily, and Roxanne.

"There's no one in this castle dealing drugs, nor was there ever."

"How do you know that? There must be someone if there's all this fuss."

"I'm a Slytherin, and I'm something of awesomeness in that house. I asked around, and no one knew anything about a dealer. And don't you think that if there were drugs floating around, Slytherin house would be a focal point?"

"You're only something of awesomeness in that slimy house, Malfoy," Fred growled.

"Be nice, Fred," Rose warned.

"Yeah, be nice, Weasel," Scorpius drawled.

"Will you all shut up and tell me what you're all doing discussing my fucking business?" I said, before wands could be fully drawn.

"Look Eve, we like you, and it's Rose's fault that you're in this mess—" James began, but got a huge cough of disapproval from Rose, "alright fine, our fault, and we want to fix it. We've all been sworn to secrecy, the Weasley way, and won't say a word. All anyone knows is that someone framed you for being a drug dealer." James gave me a look and I immediately understood that no one besides James, Scorpius, and Rose knew about my family situation. I allowed myself to put down some of my guards and start to listen.

"Christmas is coming up next week. Will you come to the Burrow with us?" Rose asked. "You can stay at my house."

"Um…" I began, "I don't know if I can."

"We've already settled everything with the school and they said no problem. We explained the situation of how you were falsely accused of drug dealing to mum and dad and they offered to be your 'holiday escorts,'" James said.

I was slightly overwhelmed. Why did they want me in their house? I didn't think anyone wanted me in their house; especially the Golden Trio. This thought then further closed my throat up.

"Alright," I said, trying to hide my shaky palms in between the folds of my skirt. I saw Al smile at me from behind James.

"Don't worry, Eve. We don't bite."

"I can't make promises," Fred joked.

"Don't be a git," Lily shot at him. "I'm glad she's coming over and everything, but on with the plan. I love plans." There was silence while everyone stared at each other. "Oh my god, don't tell me no one came up with a plan?" Lily asked, looking annoyed. "I came here under false pretenses. So excuse me, I'm going to go find Ralph."

"Who is Ralph?" Al and James both asked at the same time. Lily narrowed her eyes at them and walked out.

"Ah well, there's time for plans during Christmas time," James said dismissively. Rose shook her head.

"No there isn't. I'm going to go find out who did this," Rose said.

"And how's that?" Fred asked.

"I'm a prefect, remember? I'll just ask the headmistress. Scorpius can come with me. He's a prefect too."

"No, he won't," James said fiercely.

"James, give it a rest." Everyone turned to gape at Al, who was looking a bit weary. "Scorpius has been here with us for a good while, and he doesn't seem all that bad. Just defensive, but that's because our family is a bunch of gits. We're no better than the prejudiced Slytherins if we go around hating everyone because they're from Slytherin or because their last name is Malfoy."

I shot Al a smile, which he returned with a wink. Rose hugged him.

"I like this guy," Scorpius said, walking over to stand next to Al. They shook hands and it was all very picturesque.

"Oh Merlin," James said. "Fine, whatever. Ok Rose, you and Malfoy will go up and see if she tells you anything. If not, we'll regroup when you get back."

"You want us to go right now?" Scorpius asked.

"When then Malfoy? Waiting for _Voldemort_ to come back?" James snapped.

"Oh shut up," Scorpius said irritably.

"Can we just get a move on?" Fred asked.

**Rose's POV**

Scorpius and I made our way to the gargoyle that stood in front of the Headmistress's office.

"So, are we okay again?" I asked nervously. Scorpius didn't respond and so I snuck a look at him. He wasn't frowning, but he wasn't smiling either. He looked like he was thinking hard about something.

"You know, your cousin Al, he's really sensible."

"Yes," I agreed, not knowing where he was going with this. I felt him reach over and take my hand.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" I asked, surprised.

"Just, that it got like this between us," he said.

"Me too. And I'm sorry for being such a bad friend," I responded, feeling my heart grow lighter. He squeezed my hand lightly, and we found ourselves in front of the gargoyle.

"_Felino_," I said. The gargoyle moved aside and a staircase unwound itself and presented itself to Scorpius and me. We climbed up and found ourselves at the door. He took the knocker and knocked twice. It swung open to show the Headmistress, scribbling upon a parchment on her desk, her nose almost touching the paper.

"Headmistress?" I asked. She looked up suddenly and nodded at us. We came forward and sat in the two seats in front of her desk.

"Hello Weasley, Malfoy," she said, folding her hands together in front of her. "What troubles you?"

"Evelyn Martin," I said. She looked pensive.

"Is this something drug related?"

"No," Scorpius said. "Well, sort of, but not what you think. We need to know who tipped you off about Eve."

"I'm afraid, Mr. Malfoy, that information like that is very anonymous. Now, if you will excuse me—"

"She's being framed, Headmistress," Scorpius said.

"And how would you know that, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Because no one's even heard of anyone selling drugs in the castle, Headmistress," I piped in.

"You two are prefects; no one will let you know about it."

"No offense, Headmistress, but I'm in Slytherin. I would have heard about it."

"Look it's not fair to have her followed on a hunch by some crazy person who wants to hurt her in some way," Scorpius said.

"The person who informed me is not crazy, I assure you."

"Professor, with all due respect, no one thought that Tom Riddle was crazy either," Scorpius said, completely seriously. I almost laughed, but I had enough sense not to. She stared at him, her mouth in a thin line.

"Fine, I shall investigate this further. You both are like your parents: nosy and butting in where you do not belong. But very well, I shall call my informant in and find out for myself."

"But that person might lie again!" I protested.

"I assure you, Weasley, I know how to make her tell the truth. And I don't need violence or _veritiserum_ to do it," she said. She looked weary and looked pointedly at the door. We mumbled apologies and hurried out of the room.

James didn't look convinced. "She's going to forget."

"Oh give her some credit," I snapped at him.

"Whatever. But if by after Christmas, this isn't wrapped up and I don't kill the fucker who made this rumor up, I'm going to find out for myself."

"Whatever, James."

"No need for killing," Eve said nervously.

"Rose, can I talk to you?" I saw Riley standing at the door to the common room, his eyes flickering between Scorpius and me. I nodded and followed him up to his room. "What is going on?" he asked.

"I can't tell you," I said.

"That's not fair. Malfoy knows."

"So?"

"So, why the hell am I in the dark?"

"Riley, don't be a hypocrite. It's not like you don't have your secrets."

"Like what?"

"Why the hell you got beat up and left in a broom closet for almost dead?" I demanded. He flinched away from me.

"I can't tell you that, Rose."

"Then what happened this summer?"

"Can't tell you that either."

"Then why should I tell you anything?"

"Fine I get your point. I'm just frustrated because James and Fred are in it too."

"It's just… a more family thing."

"Fine. I miss you though," he murmured, leaning toward me and taking my face in his hands. I smiled and leaned into him and began to kiss him. Things began to heat up, as usual, and I began to pull away. But he pulled on me harder.

"Riley, what—" I murmured and tried to pull away harder. But his hands were already up my blouse and under my bra. I pushed against him frantically. "Stop Riley, just think—" And then I kicked him right in the nuts because he had just put a hand up my skirt.

"Rose, I'm gay," he burst out, while cowering down on the bed beside me.


	12. The Best People I'd Ever Meet

**The Best People I'd Ever Meet**

"Um, what?" I said, jumping up. I couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth.

"I like boys. Well, one boy, in particular."

"What in Merlin—then why did you ask me out?" I asked, completely furious.

"Because I thought maybe I could get rid of it," he said. He looked like he was about to cry. I was so angry, but the sight of him made me pity him.

"You tried to use me to get rid of the homosexuality? I'm sorry to tell you—but it doesn't work that way!" I said.

"Please, Rose, don't tell anyone."

"Why would I tell people that you went out with me to get rid of the gay?" I asked, stepping away from him.

"The boy I like beat me up and threw me into the closet. This summer, we had a thing, and I thought I could maybe reinstate it but he didn't think so—"

"Wait, you still like him?" I asked, feeling probably the weirdest I have in my life.

"I—I can't help it. And he can't either, it's all very scary."

"Merlin, don't be such a little bitch. He almost killed you. And no, you know what, I'm going to leave now. I'm really hurt right now. Maybe it's not leaving me for another girl, but it's still leaving me for someone else, while knowing that you liked them."

"Rose, I'm so sorry," he said, reaching for my hand. I pulled it away and ran down the stairs, trying not to cry. Everything that happened was just too weird to wrap my head around. I didn't even have a hunch. How do I not have a hunch?

Thank Merlin I was going home.

**Eve's POV**

I was ready and packed when McGonagall sent me another one of her letters.

"She's probably telling me I can't go."

"Stop being such a pessimist," Liz said, fiddling with her hair in front of the mirror.

"Girl, you can admit it you know," Reed said. "And then you can give me some."

"Reed!" Dona said.

"I am not selling drugs, Reed," I said calmly. For some reason, her accusation didn't bother me. She wasn't judging me, and for that I gave her credit. "And I don't believe in them, either."

"Whatever girl. Hash makes the world go round."

"Well, I think McGonagall thinks I'm selling much harder things," I said, laughing.

"So wait… do you have hash?"

"No, I do not have that either, Liz. And this is my queue to leave. I'm off to the Headmistress then."

"Good luck! If you get to go to the Potter's it's going to be _extravagant_."

"If I get there," I repeated.

"Martin, sit down," McGonagall said, shutting the great doors behind me. I sat down, feeling very scared. She sat down facing me, folding her hands in front of her. "First, I would like to apologize." I looked up at her, completely caught off guard. "Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy alerted me to possible foul play. And so I found my source and found out that you were falsely accused, and there was no reason to suspect that you are involved in the selling or using of drugs. I am truly sorry and I have no objection to making a public statement—"

"No, that's not necessary Headmistress," I said quickly. "Just the people following me, if they could just you know—"

"Of course," she said.

"Who… who made it up Professor?"

"Renee White did. I was pondering whether or not I should tell you, but I do believe you have a right to know who is trying to sabotage your reputation," she said. "But I want you to understand that the appropriate consequences have been given to Miss White, and I expect none to come from you or your friends. If I find out that Miss White has come to any harm then I will have the person responsible expelled." I nodded. She stood and I stood as well, turning to make for the door.

"Miss Martin?" I turned to look at her. "I want to emphasize that you should not trust so lightly."

"Professor, I didn't tell her anything. No one knows expect for three people," I said. She looked worried.

"Well make sure that those three people don't spread your story without your consent. I would rather this kind of thing not happen again."

"Yes Headmistress."

"It worked," I said breathlessly, when I saw Scorpius sitting in the Great Hall, picking at his food. He jumped up and gave me a hug, which I wasn't prepared for at all. I stood there, in shock, and became very aware of my hands.

He pulled back and grinned. "You need to learn how to hug."

"Can I teach her?"

I looked up and saw James standing behind Scorpius. Scorpius shot me a concerned look, to which I nodded. He shrugged and left, glancing back my way one more time. I looked back toward James.

"Did you tell Renee?" I asked, before he could say anything.

"What?" He asked, completely caught off guard.

"She's the one who told McGonagall that I was selling drugs. Apparently she knows everything about me, and I don't know how."

"I didn't tell her, Eve, I promise."

"But she's your ex-girlfriend. Maybe you were trying to make it up to her—leaving her for that Ravenclaw—"

"I did _not_ leave her for that—" James said, his teeth grit. "Merlin, I hate that bitch."

"Then what happened?" I demanded, realizing that this was probably none of my business.

"I can't tell you," he responded. I raised my eyebrows at him, but he just shifted his eyes away from me.

"Whatever. Well if you didn't tell her, who the hell did?" I asked.

"No idea. I don't think Rose is much of a gossiper. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Although I would like to take care of Renee—"

"No, I promised McGonagall nothing would happen on our part." James still looked like he wanted to continue plotting. "Seriously, you'll get expelled. Apparently, she's facing her own consequences. Probably detention or something."

"Fine. Are you packed?" James asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Good. We're leaving in an hour. So meet us down here. We're taking the fireplaces." He turned and walked away, leaving me frustrated. James and I were always at odds. He was either pissed with me, or I was pissed with him. There was that brief period in which we were both friendly with each other. But it was brief, like I said. I punched the wall beside me as hard as I could, causing my fist to bleed.

"Ah, to bleed. What a feeling," said a passing ghost. I scowled and made my way back to the dormitories.

**Rose's POV**

"Scorpius," I whispered to myself, fumbling through the map in my hands. I saw his labeled dot in the Great Hall, next to Eve's. I waited for a while, watched as James walked up and saw Scorpius leaving. He was out on the grounds. I threw the map on top of my suitcase and flew downstairs to find him.

"Malfoy!" I called out. He turned and broke into a grin.

"Weasley, guess what?" he said, when I reached him.

"What?"

"Eve is cleared. McGonagall got the truth out of the source. We make a good team—whoa, whoa why are you crying—Rose, Rose, talk—use your words Rose," he said, grasping my shoulders. I fell into him and began to sob even harder.

"Riley—" I gasped out, "he broke up—up with me."

"Why?"

"Because he's gay, Scorpius."

There was silence after I said this and I pulled back to see a slight grin on Scorpius's face. I exploded.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I yelled, tears still flowing down my cheeks. "THIS IS NOT FUNNY!"

"Rose, stop yelling. I know it's not funny right now, but honestly, it's one of those things that you'll think back on and laugh your ass—"

"Shut up. You're an ass," I said. But I couldn't help but let a watery smile escape through. He bent down and kissed my forehead. I pulled back, surprised. "That was super sensitive," I commented.

"I'm super sensitive, Rose, duh."

"Don't tell anyone, Scorp. I don't want it to get to Fred and James before Riley comes out himself."

"Well that's nice of you. But what are you going to say when they ask what happened?"

"Just that we weren't feeling it," I said. "You know, I feel like I should've known."

"Rose, Rose, Rose. He wasn't gay. He met you. You turned him gay. Congratu—"

But he never got to finish that statement, because I hexed his mouth closed.

I kept my eyes on the floor. James, Riley, and Fred were only a few paces away from me, and Riley didn't say anything, so neither did I. My family didn't seem to have a clue. Everyone was basically around Eve, talking about her redemption. "Everyone to the Burrow, fireplace number 4!" came Flitwick's chirpy voice. I joined the line leading to the fireplace. One by one, we stepped inside. I stepped in second to last and found myself covered in soot and laying on top of Lily on the dark wood floors of the Burrow. I stood up and helped Lily up, before brushing the soot off.

"Rose? What's up with you and Riley?" Lily whispered, watching Riley come out of the fire, and not even sparing me a glance.

"Um…we broke up," I admitted.

"Why? You were so cute together!" she exclaimed, in a very Lily-like fashion.

"Shh, we're not quite telling everyone yet. Especially right now—hello Nana!" I said, giving my grandmother a hug. She turned and gave Lily a hug as well.

"Look at my girls!" she said, happily, smelling like cooking. In fact, the whole house smelled like freshly baked rolls and I had worked up quite an appetite. Someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned and saw Ted. His hair was black today, and his eyes were dark brown. He only looked like this when something serious was going on.

"What's up Ted?" I asked, not forgetting our last meeting.

"I'm sorry, Bud," he said, giving me a hug. "I shouldn't have overreacted."

"No, I'm sorry," I said. "I should have been less careless."

"Alright, enough with the apologies. Time to eat!" James said, gesturing toward the table, where plates upon plates of Nana's delicious cooking awaited us. I watched as Riley took his seat next to Fred and James and went to the other extreme of the table. James gave me a funny look but I looked away before he could say anything.

**Eve's POV**

I felt like everyone was staring. I tried to take a seat as close to Rose as possible, and ended up with the next best thing—Al. James was far away on the other side of the table, not making eye contact with me, which was good.

"So, Eve is it?" I looked up to see the Weasley's grandmother Molly smiling warmly at me from beside my chair with a huge pot of stew levitating nearby. She waved her wand and it landed in front of James, who started scooping some out almost immediately. "How are you dear?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for the lunch."

"Not a problem! The more the merrier! In fact, all of your parents will be arriving after lunch for tea. They're all at the Ministry, save for Ginny, who is at the Prophet," she said.

"Where are Dom and Vicky?" Louis piped up.

"They're still at Aunt Fleur's," Ted said.

"Dom's coming?" Rose asked, excitedly. Everyone looked excited at the prospect, and I couldn't help but be curious. I turned to Al and asked him who Dom was.

"Dominique is Louis's brother and Ted's fiancée's sister and our cousin," Al said, taking a bite of a chicken leg.

"Oh. I see. What does she do?"

"She's a model and she basically goes around the world on her photo-shoots."

"Wow, she must be beautiful then."

"Oh, she's the best looking out of all of us, and that's saying something," Al said, winking. I laughed and secretly agreed with him. "Thing is, her mom, Aunt Fleur has some veela blood in her."

"Ooh, wow, Veela."

"Louis has it too, but since he's a guy…" Al said, trailing off at the sight of a fresh batch of rolls.

"Yeah. And what about Ted's fiancée?" I asked, feeling weird about not calling him professor.

"Vicky is just as beautiful, but in a more elegant way. Dom's looks are like… the pixie rebellious looks."

"Oh, I see."

After lunch, everyone went outside to play Quidditch on the Burrow's pitch. Al told me that his dad had drawn up plans for it the minute Ginny had expressed wanting to be on the Holyhead Harpies. The Harpies used to practice on this pitch when Ginny played for the team and when I saw it, I knew why. It was spectacular.

Al threw me a broomstick out of the broom-shed. I wasn't much of a Quidditch player. Actually, I had no idea how to play except from what I had seen before. James was already in the air, picking out his team. Al was on the other side, picking his team. He picked me, and I unsteadily flew up next to him.

It was James, Lily, Fred, Hugo, and Riley, against Rose, me, Al, Rox, and Louis. Ted had decided to be the referee and keep score. I was appointed Keeper, and I kind of flew by the goalposts a while, not exactly sure what I was supposed to be doing. Both sides were so good though, that it had been a full twenty minutes and no one had come close to either of the goals. So really, I just floated around and hoped that nothing was thrown my way.

Until it was.

James was speeding toward me with the Quaffle in hand. I panicked and flew in front of him. He didn't see me, got caught off guard, and we both went tumbling to the ground. He landed right on top of me. I know how cliché it sounds, but that's how it happened. But the next part wasn't so cliché.

"James Sirius Potter!" I felt James scrambling from on top of me to face his angry mother. "What are you doing on top of that girl?"

"Mum, this is Eve. We're uh… she's Rose's friend, and we were playing Quidditch, it's not what it looks like—" James tried to explain. Meanwhile, I pulled myself up to face her. She turned to me and gave me a warm smile.

"Oh, I remember you from the station. You were with Neville. Well nice to see you again, dear. Did James hurt you?"

"No Mrs. Potter—"

"Call me Ginny. Now, James, how has school been?"

"Good mum," James said.

One by one, the Weasleys began landing and the brooms were placed against the side of the house while everyone hugged Ginny. A moment later, I watched as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Weasley came in and got their hugs too. I was introduced to everyone and treated like I was family almost immediately, which was pretty overwhelming. And then everyone except for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and me got back up in the air to play real Quidditch. It was intense. Age hadn't slowed down anyone. Harry and Ginny were an amazing team and beat James and Al in practically no time.

Dinner was a candid affair, with everyone laughing and making small talk. Victoire and the famous Dom had finally made their appearance, and took my breath away. Victoire didn't really talk to anyone, but went straight to Ted. They spent the whole evening with their heads bent toward one another, talking in hushed whispers. Dominique on the other hand was lively and talkative. Her hair was pixie cut and bright blonde with blazing red tips. She had small tattoos here and still managed to keep up a classy appearance. Her clothes were designer and her teeth were brilliant. Her eyes even sparkled and I saw what Al meant. She was so beautiful; she made everyone around her look beautiful.

I went to bed in one of the Burrow bedrooms that night full of food and happy thoughts, glad to find myself amongst these people. Something the Sorting Hat said to me found its way to my thoughts just before I fell asleep.

_You seem to have already judged a group of people of whom you know nothing of except for the situation they were born to._

I realized then what the hat meant. And I realized that I had been wrong. I had judged this fantastic group of people because they were rich and famous and didn't realize that maybe, just maybe, they were probably the best group of people I would ever meet.


	13. Of Peace Settlements

**Of Peace Settlements**

**Rose's POV**

"The marriage is set to be in June!" Ted announced the next morning over breakfast. Everyone looked up at him, still sleepy eyed, and no one reacted for quite a while. Then I saw James jump up and jump onto his Godbrother.

"Yes! Finally part of the family!" he shouted out.

"James, will you be my best man?"

James stood silent for a second and dramatically placed his hand over his heart. "Why, I'd be honored," he said, pretending to wipe away a tear. It earned him a scowl from Vicky and a shove from Teddy.

"Seriously," Teddy insisted.

"Seriously, bro. I'd love to," he said. I stood up and hugged both of them, feeling so happy my heart might've burst. But then I glanced toward Riley and felt like punching something. Luckily, none of my family members had approached me about him yet.

Well, until Fred pulled me aside after breakfast, while everyone was excitedly pouring over wedding plans. "What the hell happened with Riley, Rose?"

"Um, Fred, no offense but—"

"No. Lily mentioned it. We're talking about this. Right now."

"Damn Lily," I muttered, scowling at her direction. But she didn't see me. She was too busy arguing in favor of azaleas.

"Nothing. We just broke up. We weren't good for each other," I said, truthfully.

"Did he hurt you?"

I looked at Fred and didn't feel like lying to him. He always looked out for me, Fred did. But I couldn't tell him about Riley. That would be disastrous. "We hurt each other," I said, after thinking about it.

He pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Rosey. You can always talk to me okay? I know you might've thought this was different because Riles is like my best friend, but it's not. You can still talk to me and James."

"Thanks Fred," I murmured into his chest, trying not to cry. It just all really sucked.

"No problem. Are you packed?"

"Yeah. I wish we could stay at the Burrow the whole time though. It's much more fun."

"We'll see each other all the time anyway. Only at home, I have a bed to sleep in by myself. And privacy is something I like. If you know what I mean," he said, winking. I shoved him away from me, completely disgusted.

**Eve's POV**

I was all packed once again and ready to head over to Rose's house. I felt like I wanted to say something to James. Anything. But nothing came to mind. And I had no idea why I wanted to say something at all. Ugh, I was so frustrated. I was not this stupid, drippy, person always worried about a boy. He was standing next to Riley, a sandwich in one hand, and his bags in another. His hair was slightly ruffled, because he kept running a hand through it.

Oh Merlin, why was I noticing these things?

"Eve, you ready?" Rose asked, hauling a suitcase behind her. I nodded, tearing my gaze away from James to meet Rose's amused eyes. "He's coming over later. They live next door to us."

"Oh, well I mean… that's interesting information but I don't know why you thought I'd care," I said, picking up my own bag and putting it into the car next to hers.

"Oh please, Eve. I know the way you're looking at him."

"As someone who annoys the hell out of me?"

"Nope," she said, with a slight laugh. "As someone you want to tie up and take advantage of, if you know what I mean."

"Of course I know what you mean. There wasn't a hit of subtlety there. And you're being preposterous."

"You know it's true."

"What's true?" Hermione asked, climbing into the front seat. Hugo climbed in next to me and quickly looked away when I gave him a smile.

"Nothing, Mrs.—um Hermione—" I said, quickly.

"She likes James," Rose said.

"Oh Merlin, are you sure Eve? Because I'd watch out." Ron said. I was blushing furiously and if looks could kill, I was killing Rose.

"No, I do not like him," I stated.

"That's what Ron and I said constantly to Harry. Turns out—" Hermione said, smiling at Ron. I felt a pang of jealousy for Rose. She had both a mom and a dad. And they loved each other. It seemed so perfect.

"I don't know why you like such a scumbag," Hugo muttered. I turned to him, surprised. But before I could say anything, the rest of his family beat me to it.

"Oi, watch it Hugo. You don't talk about family like that," Ron said.

"Yes, Hugo. That was unkind. I'd rather not hear my nephew being called names by my son. Understand?" Hermione asked.

"Yes mum. Sorry," Hugo said, a bit insincerely.

"Okay, seriously, I don't like James. We're always at each other's throats—" Hermione and Ron exchanged a look, "and right now we're at odds."

"Only because you're too stubborn to even try and be friends with him," Rose accused.

"No, this time, it's him who's at quits with me. I accused him of telling Renee about the whole drug thing," I said. The car fell eerily quiet and I realized that perhaps Ron and Hermione might have been trying to avoid this topic. "It wasn't me Ron, Hermione. James's ex-girlfriend Renee framed me by saying that someone was selling drugs and it was probably me because my mom used to sell drugs," I explained.

"Oh. Well how'd she know?" Ron asked.

"That's what I accused James of. Telling her."

"Why would he do that? She broke his heart," Rose said, frowning at me.

"But—but everyone said it was the other way around," I said, feeling weird.

"No. James let everyone think that he was the bad guy because he felt sorry for Renee, but he didn't do anything. That's just how he is."

"Oh Merlin, I'm such an idiot."

"I'm lost," Ron said, from the front seat.

"You two should talk it out later. When he comes by," Rose said. I nodded, deciding that yes, that needed to be done.

Rose's house was beautiful. It was big but still maintained coziness. They gave me one of their numerous guest rooms, and I immediately collapsed onto the huge bed in the middle of the room and felt at ease. Or I did, until Rose came barging into the room.

"So have you figured out a legitimate game plan yet?" She asked, sitting on the end of the bed.

"For what Rose?" I asked, a bit exasperated with her misplaced enthusiasm.

"Well James, Al, and Lily are coming by in like an hour, after they've showered." I stopped her here to remark on how astonished I was that James showers. "And you've got to make your move."

"I'm not making a move, Rose, I just have to apologize."

"Right, apologize, make your move whatever. So James likes mushy talk. Even though he's a guy, he's super sensitive."

"Rose, snap out of it! We're not hooking up!" I said, getting more and more frustrated.

"Why not? You two are so perfect-o for each other," she whined.

"No we are not. I'm emotionally damaged beyond repair, and everything James sees is through rose-colored lenses. So what happens when he realizes how incredibly fucked up I am?" Rose was quiet and looked at me.

"Eve, you've got to realize that we don't see you like that. No one does. And we all know that you're trying. You've improved so much since the beginning of the year! And I promise, maybe we as a generation haven't seen anything horrid in our lifetimes, but our parents definitely have, and they would never let us forget it."

I tried to think of something to say in response, but nothing seemed to be enough. I did it again. I judged them as the kind of people who have never faced issues. But of course they at least know. Their parents were the freaking Golden Trio. What in Merlin's baggiest pants was my problem?

James and the rest of his family came by around an hour later, as promised, and I took extra care showering and cleaning. Rose made sure to point this out when I arrived from her Jacuzzi bath after forty-five minutes, smelling like strawberries. "Oh shut up," I snapped. But I let her straighten out my hair anyway. "Just so I can make a good impression when I apologize," I assured her. But she just hummed and pretended like she didn't hear me.

James, Al, and Lily all came up to Rose's room just as she was finished straightening the last strand with her straightener. We both weren't seventeen yet, so we couldn't really perform magic. She quickly stowed it in her drawer.

"Hey guys!" she said, enthusiastically, "long time no see!"

"Shut up Rose," Al said, rolling his eyes.

"Where's Hugo?" Lily asked. Rose pointed across the hall, and Lily immediately left, leaving a bit of an awkward silence.

"Um, Al I need to show you something outside in the backyard," Rose said, looking pointedly at her cousin. I could feel myself burning red. Al followed Rose out and my heart dropped when James followed behind him. But Rose pushed him back in. "No, it's for Al only, sorry Jay."

So it was him and me, staring awkwardly at each other.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, watching him. He looked at me and his eyebrows furrowed. "For assuming that you were the jerk in your relationship with Renee, even though I didn't hear your side of the story."

"That's okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry too. I should've stopped pestering you like you wanted me to from the beginning. And I should've believed you when you said you didn't do the whole…drug business."

"Right. Um. Thanks for everything though. For playing a part in getting me off the hook," I said.

"No problem."

"So are we good?" I asked, hesitantly. He smiled at me.

"You know there was a time in which you wanted nothing more than for me to leave you alone?"

"Well I admire persistence. So are we okay?"

"Better than okay maybe? Eve Martin, will you be my—" Oh shit, he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend oh no oh no…"best friend?" he asked, with a very Weasley grin on. I've come to notice this particular grin in all the Weasleys. It got everyone to do what they wanted. And it was working on me. I smiled and nodded and was greeted with a hug. Once again, I didn't know what to do. "You need to learn how to do this right," he said, pulling back. He grabbed my hands from my sides and pulled them around his waist. He felt good against me, and I hugged him close.

And then I did the most embarrassing thing and started crying. Just all over his shirt. I expected him to pull away and think I was crazy, but instead, he just hugged me closer and rubbed my hair, which just made me cry harder.

We just stood there, hugging, with me crying all over him for a good ten minutes, before I pulled away and rubbed my eyes.

"I've never—I'm so sorry," I gasped out. He shook his head, with a small smile on his face.

"We're best friends now, remember? You can cry into my shirt all you want. You can also tell me what's wrong."

"Your family, everything about how you live is perfect," I said quietly. "And I feel so out of place."

"Eve, you're not out of place. We're not perfect either. Christmas is just one of those times in which everything somehow works out for all of us. But if you ever come during the summer, you realize that big families definitely have their share of problems. Seriously, everyone here likes you. Have fun, relax, and let us show you an awesome Christmas?"

I agreed with him, and proceeded to probably have one of the best Christmases I'd ever have in my life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: TWO CHAPTERS, ONE NIGHT. Proud of me? :D<strong>


	14. Surprises

**Surprises**

**Rose's POV**

I was trying hard not to mope. Especially because Riley seemed to be at every meal. He kept switching households, like he did every vacation. And it was irritating beyond belief to not get a dinner without him lurking around, reminding me of his homosexuality. I know, I sounded homophobic, but that wasn't it. I was angry at him. I was angry that he had deceived me. I was angry that I had been used. Or he tried to use me anyway.

I was really starting to like him for a moment there.

James had already confronted me about everything, and I supposed that Riley had told them we broke up. Usually, James would've killed the other guy. Or threatened him pretty severely. But I guess this case was pretty different, as Riley was as close to him as a brother. I was just glad Riley had stuck to my story about not feeling it and not come up with something else and confused everyone until the truth came out.

That's how it _usually_ happened around here.

Anyway, I tried to focus all my frustrations on trying to make sure James and Eve didn't call it quits on their friendship. They were always two seconds close to it too. Personally, I thought it was all the sexual tension between them. Seriously, all of us knew it.

That's why when every time it looked like they were quits, I'd come in with something like, "hey James how great is it that Eve is your best friend?" or "hey, Eve, isn't it awesome how James totally got you out of that drug mess?" and then the bad feelings would disappear and they'd be friends again.

Until Christmas Eve at the Burrow, when James asked Eve something that made her so uncomfortable, I didn't think I could step in

**Eve's POV**

I had never had eggnog before. It was spiked with firewhiskey, and I found it delicious. It was warm, and as I sat amongst all the Weasley family, I felt so peaceful. James was sitting next to me, a little tipsy himself, cracking jokes that didn't quite make sense, but made everyone laugh anyway, due to the slight insobriety of the entire group.

James stood up and stretched and looked toward me, motioning me out to the back porch. I stood up, slightly dizzy, and followed him there. I could feel the family's eyes on my back but ignored it. We were just friends. Everything everyone else seemed to think was untrue.

"I needed air," James said, sitting down on the porch swing. He patted the space next to him and I sat down, trying not to slosh my eggnog all over the place.

"Well, I didn't have to come then," I said quietly. He shook his head.

"Don't be silly. If there was anyone I wanted air with, it's you," he said dismissively. "Can I get a sip of that?" he asked. I gave the glass to him, he took a gulp, and handed it back.

"Eve, do you know who your father is?"

I stared at him. It was so random, so unexpected, and made me uncomfortable. But I turned to look out to the garden, trying to fight the sinking feeling in my chest. I didn't think about my father too much, but when I did, guilt ended up sitting on my shoulders like a huge, heavy anvil.

"No," I said shortly. He didn't seem fazed.

"There's that thing in your voice again."

"What thing?"

"The thing. When I know you're feeling guilty," he said. I just felt silent. "Is he alive?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Me too." I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. I felt James's arm snake around my shoulders and pull me into him. I leaned into his chest, for the first time in my life letting myself lose a bit of control. I let him take over for a moment as he stroked my cheek and rested his head on top of mine. "It's my fault," I said quietly. I said it in a whisper, because I wasn't sure if I wanted him to hear it or not. He was silent for so long that I didn't think that he heard me, until he pulled his arm away from me and turns to look at me.

"Eve, listen to yourself. How _could_ something like that be your fault?" he asked, frowning. I put my head in my hands.

"How could it not be?" I said, my voice muffled, "He left as soon as I was born, James. What does that mean?"

"Maybe that your mother was too much to handle for him."

"Then why wouldn't he take me with him?" I asked.

"I—maybe she wouldn't let him. Eve, you were a baby. Babies can't do anything wrong," James said. "Don't be ridiculous. Think clearly. How could it be your fault, Eve?" I watched my cat sneak around the garden, trying to paw at a gnome.

"I am not meant to exist," I said, looking straight into his eyes. "And I know it every single fucking day of my life."

"No. Fuck this, Eve," James said angrily, standing up in front of me. "I am going to find your father and then ask—"

"You will do _no_ such thing," I hissed at him.

"I hate your parents, Eve. I hate what they've done to you," he said, clenching his fists.

"James, whatever you hate or love, you will _not_ find my father. I do not want to find him. I've never wanted to. Not a single part of me has ever wanted to. Please," I said, changing my tone to one of pleading. Because the more I spoke to him, the more I realized how easy it would be for James Potter to find my father. His father was an Auror, for Merlin's sake. "Please, James, if you value our friendship."

And then I started crying. He was holding me in under a second.

"Don't cry, I'm sorry, I won't. Just don't cry. I just got mad for a moment," James explained.

"It's fine," I said, embarrassed at my outbreaks. Which were happening more often than ever in my life. Something in the English air. I never used to cry. "Just please don't. I know how easy it would be for you, just please—"

"Shh, no, I won't," he said, holding me tighter.

"What's going on?" I turned and saw Dominique and Rose standing at the doorway, grinning hugely at the both of us.

"Nothing," James said, while I brushed away the rest of my tears.

"We were just talking," I confirmed, hoping my eyes weren't red.

"If by talking, you mean snogging," Dom said, winking at James, who turned red and denied it profusely.

**James's POV**

I knew what I was doing would probably end my friendship with Eve, but seriously, this girl was completely messed up. Everyone wants to know their family. I wanted to fix her, and I saw this as my only option. So on Christmas morning, I went to my dad.

"Dad," I said, standing at the door to his study.

"Merry Christmas James! The presents are downstairs, so we can—"

"Wait, dad, I wanted to ask you something." He looked concerned and gestured to the seats in front of his desk. "How easy is it to find somebody?" He looked at me suspiciously.

"Easy," he said, waiting for me to continue.

"I need to find Evelyn Martin's father. Lived in Salem, America around 16 years ago, possibly married to someone there. Most probably a wizard. Um probably middle aged. Don't really know his na—" Dad put his hand up, drew his wand, and shut the door with a wave. He folded his hands in front of him and looked toward me.

"James, is Eve okay with this?"

"I mean… who doesn't want to know their father?" I said, trying to avoid the actual question.

"Is Eve okay with this, James?" he repeated.

"Yes," I said. I had to lie if it came to this. Dad nodded and pulled out a parchment from his desk. He took a quill and began scribbling something. "Dad…Dad what are you writing?"

"Um… a note to my assistant. Ray will find out what he can." He still sounded disapproving.

"Dad, wouldn't you want to know?"

"I did. But it's different, James. My dad didn't abandon me. He died."

"But how you do you know her dad didn't leave from those kinds of circumstances?"

"I don't. But if he did abandon her?"

"Then she'll know. Dad, this girl is broken, and I don't think there's any way to fix it until she knows why her dad left her."

"James, if you're wrong about her father, and she finds him or knows about him and he doesn't want anything to do with her, it will be like her father left her again. Only this time, the damage may just be irreparable."

"Dad, I think the damage is at its worst."

"You're obstinate like your mother, James. But okay, I will send this off to see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"Now let's go open presents. Mums already got some delicious food cooking and Ron and Hermione are coming over soon."

**Rose's POV**

I opened mum's present first. It was a leather bound homework planner, which was already color coded for me. It was really what I needed for these upcoming O.W.L.s. She was over the moon when I said I loved it to. Dad gave me a _lot_ of money, as he always did. I did appreciate it though. It always guaranteed I'd have a beautiful dress for the Potter Boxing Day party. Hugo gave me like five pairs of socks. Just as I thought I had finished, I saw an envelope lying under the tree. I took it and opened it. Out fell a long letter, as well as a tiny, ornate box.

I looked around, but mum, dad, and Hugo were too busy opening presents to notice me. I stole away to the kitchen, sat myself down and began reading.

_Rose_

_Merry Christmas! I know what you're thinking: this is the first time I've ever written you. I was a bit scared it would land in one of your humungous family's hands, so I didn't put my name on the front of the envelope. Hopefully you'll have had the good sense to move somewhere more private to read this. If not, well… I can't say I'm very much surprised._

_So how are you? I hope you're still not moping about the stud monkey White. You dodged a bullet there, if I may say so myself._ I chuckled and kept reading._ How are your drastically discriminant cousins? I hope they're reveling in this joyous season! It's hard to accurately portray sarcasm in a letter…_

_I hope Eve is doing okay and has kept from falling in love with one your aforementioned cousins. (I've been reading a lot, hence all the big words). I know you're partying it up over there Weasley-style, but not all of us view Christmas time as so endearing. My parents are off to Romania. I adamantly refused to go, knowing they probably went to meet and greet our millions of boring relatives. So I'm stuck here, reading books. I've even moved on to Muggle books, aren't you proud of me?_

_Anyway, I hope you're enjoying your holidays. Write back if you can._

_Love,_

_Scorpius_

_P.S. Enjoy the gift. I hope it makes up for all the grief between us these past few months. _

I smiled and picked up the tiny box. I flicked it open with my pinky finger and gasped. It was a crystal rose charm. It was insanely detailed, down to the dew drops on the petals. It was tinted with the slightest red and green for the leaves. I felt the tears coming before they actually wet my eyes. I didn't even know why I was crying, other than the fact that I had a fabulous best friend.

Lou was sitting on the counter next to me and staring at me accusingly. "What?" I asked grumpily, stuffing the letter back in my jacket pocket. "Oh come off it, Lou. Where's your owner anyway?"

"Right here," Eve mumbled, sleepy-eyed.

"Oh good," I said quickly. "Your presents are in the sitting room."

"Presents?" Eve asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, it's Christmas you dolt."

"I know, but you're probably mistaken about the presents."

"Oh shut it and go look, will you?" She gave me a curious glance before heading to the sitting room.

**Eve's POV**

I gaped in surprise and horror. There was a pile of presents sitting there with my name scrawled on a parchment and stuck to the top. I made my way over to them, ignoring Hugo's large grin, and picked the first one off the top. I immediately felt terrible. I hadn't gotten anyone anything. I opened the present carefully.

It was a Wizarding chess set from Ron and a homework planner from Hermione. I turned to stare at them. "But I didn't get you—"

"Oh come off it, Eve," Ron said, glaring at me.

"I…thank you. It's beautiful," I said, completely in awe. I opened the next one to find a beautiful silken scarf from Hugo, who was blushing profusely. "This is… this is altogether just wow," I muttered, running my hands over the silky material.

"It was nothing," Hugo mumbled, before hastening out of the room. The next present was from James. I opened it to find a ivy-colored bracelet. I put it on my wrist and admired it for a few seconds before moving to Rose's, which was a pair of wooly socks and a bright yellow cardigan. I made a mental note to thank her, even though I wouldn't be caught dead in bright yellow. Al had gotten me a stationary set, complete with a peacock feather quill. Neville and Hannah's gift was money and a note attached, reading, _For a beautiful dress for the Boxing Day Ball._

"I don't even know what to say," I said, my gifts in front me. "This is the first time I've ever…been given gifts. I'm not sure what to do."

"Nothing, dear. You just sit there and enjoy Christmas!" Hermione said happily, patting my shoulder.

"Thanks for the bracelet, it was beautiful," I told James when we all went over to the Potters after coffee.

"Looks pretty on your wrist," he said, smiling. He handed me a Christmas cookie, courtesy of Ginny, and led me outside. It had snowed last night and the snow seemed to have covered the entire world in a thick white blanket. Hugo, Rose, Al, and Lily were all already outside, steaming cups of cocoa in their hands.

"Oh hey, it's the lovebirds!" Al called out, grinning widely. I glared at him, but he just laughed, probably finding this whole thing amusing. I glanced at James, who was expressionless and staring at his cup of hot chocolate like it was the most interesting thing in the entire world. I wouldn't have been surprised if he put his cousins up to the constant barrage of references to our non-existent love life.

I would be lying if I said I didn't find it charming.

**Christmas at the Burrow! Best time of the year? Definitely 3 James isn't being a nosy idiot for no reason, guys, go easy on him. :) More coming! I love your reviews, keep them coming. Whenever I get one, I start writing again like mad! 3**


	15. Boxing Day Ball

**Boxing Day Ball**

**Rose's POV**

Eve and I had just come back from dress shopping; both have gotten fabulous dresses in a matter of one hour. I even managed to save some of the money dad gave me. We both collapsed onto my bed, tired from walking. Mum came in and used a spell to hang up our new dresses.

"Did you get masks too? It's a masked ball."

"Yeah, we got them, they're in that bag," I said.

"Well good, you two need to get ready then. We have to leave in a few hours. You had lunch I hope?"

"Yes we had something from the Leaky Cauldron," Eve said, sitting up. "I'm going for a shower."

**Eve's POV**

I felt weird, as usual, dressed up. But I was relieved to put on the mask. For some reason, it comforted me to know that I could be someone else for the night. It made dressing up and mingling with a huge group of famous wizards and witches seem a little easier. I looked over at Rose, who looked gorgeous, with her dark red hair hanging in ringlets around her face. She was wearing a long, thin, peach colored dress that clung to her perfect figure.

She had done my hair and makeup already, and helped me into my dress. All that was left was to actually go to the ball. We were to go with the Potters, as was custom for the "Golden Trio" at the ball, something Rose assured me all three of them felt uncomfortable with. But I thought it was nice.

We met in the hallway, where Hermione was fixing her dress. She looked beautiful in a forget-me-not blue dress. She looked young and excited, and I couldn't help but catch Ron staring at her, mouth slightly open. Hugo walked down and his eyes widened at the sight of all of us. He turned a slightly pink color and rushed out the door and into the car before any of us could say anything. Rose gave me a shove and a chuckle and climbed into the car.

The Potters were waiting for us in front of their house when we arrived. I stepped out of the car, trying to make sure the dress I was wearing didn't catch on to anything. I almost fell out, but James caught my arm, pulling me back up.

**James's POV**

I had never seen her looking so beautiful. And the best part was that she didn't even realize it. That deep blue color set off her eyes perfectly. I sounded like a tart, but I couldn't help but notice those things. I wanted her to be with me so badly, and this moment only exemplified it. Rose caught me staring and winked at me.

She almost fell and I caught her elbow, and she looked up at me and gave me a shy smile. "I didn't really get a chance to ask," I said, taking a chance, "but will you be my date to the Boxing Day ball?"

"I think you're just asking because of how good Rose made me look," she said, her dimple showing through.

"I…, no really, please—"

"Of course," she said. I immediately offered her my arm and walked her over to the car, where the rest of my family was chuckling and elbowing each other. I could tell Lily was dying to say something, but I gave her a look so she wouldn't dare. I wasn't going to scare her away. I thought I might have had a shot that night and I felt like it might be my only shot.

**Rose's POV**

I grabbed Al's arm, completely avoiding Riley, who was looking awkward. I could tell he was contemplating asking me to be his date, but no way in hell. Al was completely unaware of this whole thing and kept yacking about Quidditch or something.

"Speaking of, why haven't we had any games?" I asked, suddenly aware of the fact that there hadn't been one Quidditch game. "It's already December, weren't we supposed to start in November?"

"Yeah," Al responded. "But apparently, the whole drug thing set it back. It became a security issue. But I assume that now that it's cleared up, we can start again."

I looked over at Eve, who seemed troubled by this information. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked James. He shrugged.

"It's fine, honestly. As long as you're cleared up now," he said, touching her arm. I wanted to scream. They needed to be together. It was way far past time.

"The games will be much closer hm?" I asked.

"I assume so," James nodded.

We climbed into the limo and I clutched the side handle as usual, as Uncle Harry pressed the start button. There was a moment of fear-instilling spinning and then it stopped. I looked over and Eve's eyes were wider than her head. Luckily, her hair and makeup was still in place. James must have been holding her. Everyone got out, and I saw Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry looking spectacular as usual. They walked toward the doors of the new Wizarding Civic Hall, which opened magically. There were people everywhere, and the music was playing lightly, but then the music dimmed as usual. Everyone became quiet and we all walked inside.

**Eve's POV**

I was so amazingly embarrassed, it was ridiculous. It felt like everyone in that hall was pointing at me. But maybe I wasn't off base—I was the only one in the group that wasn't a Weasley or a Potter. Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, Lily and Hugo, Rose and Al, and then James and me? I suddenly was so, so aware of who I was at the arm of. James Potter. I was probably the center of every girl's envy. I gave an involuntary shudder.

"Thank you!" I head Harry say from the front. "I hope you all enjoy the party, etc, etc!" Everyone gave a chuckle and the music started again, and James steered me to the side of the huge, spacious floor.

"I know you don't dance without a drink," he said, glancing around. He had been doing that since we got here.

"True," I said, with a smile. James raised a wand and a firewhiskey flew into his hand. He handed it to me and summoned another one. He glanced around again.

"Let's meet people!" he said, enthusiastically, taking my arm and steering me once more into a thicket of people. This was something that did not appeal to me, whatsoever. "Look, over there, it's Lee Jordan, Quidditch sportscaster, and Uncle George's best friend."

I shook his hand and gave him a smile, but by the time I was done, James turned me to a pair of beautiful twins with handsome husbands, named Parvathi and Padma Patil, who were both professors at Hogwarts. James then introduced me to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, who were both Harry and Ron's friends in school. I was on my fourth firewhiskey by the time I met Kingsley Shacklebolt, which was so, so, so embarrassing since he was the _Minister of Magic_.

Luckily, I didn't stick around long enough to completely humiliate myself. I did however, meet up with the girls—Laney, Reed, Dona, and Liz. Luckily there was no Renee in sight. James left me with them for a while, saying he needed to go find someone.

**Rose's POV**

I, as usual, had too many firewhiskeys. I didn't even know where my mask was anymore. I was dancing too hard. I wasn't even making sure that my mother wasn't lurking around. But honestly, there were too many people for that.

**Scorpius's POV**

Thank Merlin for the ball being _masked_. No one noticed it was me. And even though I got an invite, I would never dare go if people knew it was me. And my mask was damn good too. I didn't even recognize myself in the mirror, and so I was sure that a bunch of drunk people wouldn't.

I looked around for the person I wanted to see the most, and saw fiery red hair everywhere. It was beyond frustrating. Slowly, I began dancing through the masses and saw James, Eve, Al, and even Hugo—but no Rose. I didn't dare stop, not even to talk to Eve, who was looking at me a bit suspiciously, but had obviously drank too much to notice.

Frustrated, I took a huge swig of firewhiskey, and then saw her. She was dancing and I stood still and watched her. I realized it at that singular moment. Her hair was crazy around her face and her eyes were closed and her arms were up. She didn't even know who she was dancing with. The pink dress she was wearing hugged her perfect body and I wanted to listen to what was in her head at that moment. I was in love with her. With a pang to my gut I realized the last girl I was with was Parkinson. And I hadn't even thought of anyone else but Rose.

I made straight for her, taking another huge gulp of firewhiskey. She was turning just as I got to her and I took her in my arms, and right on that dance floor I kissed her.

**Eve's POV**

"I have to sit down!" I yelled over all of the noise toward Laney, who nodded and continued dancing wildly. I stumbled over to a sofa cushion and collapsed, taking another swig of firewhiskey. I stared around at the massive amount of people and thought about how far I've managed to come. I couldn't even believe I was amongst all these people, _friends_ with a good few of them, and actually enjoying myself.

I had grown. I had grown so much I don't even look to the past that much anymore. I was actually seeing a future ahead of me. I saw James walking towards me, grinning, with something akin to excitement in his eyes. There was a man behind him, probably someone else I just _had_ to meet. I smiled to myself. I enjoyed James's enthusiasm. It was contagious.

I stood as he approached me, wanting to reach over and just touch his arm and tell him how much it meant to me that he had persisted in wanting to be my friend. God I must have been tipsy. He looked so good, standing there in front of me, a silly grin on his face, excited about the person standing behind him. I didn't even care who that person was—

"Eve, meet your dad, Gary Martin."

**Rose's POV**

I turned wildly around me, trying to figure out where Riley was so I could kill him. But I paused for a moment, realizing that the kiss that was just delivered to me was definitely not Riley's. It wasn't anything I could even remotely recognize. It was nice though.

I wanted to be able to focus so badly, but the drinks had made me so dizzy I couldn't see around me. This was important, and it rang as important in my head. I felt a pair of arms grab me from behind and pull me through the crowd. Panicked, I tried to pull away, but the arms were stronger than I was.

And then it felt like I surfaced. Panting, I looked up at who had my arms, and Al was standing beside me, his hands on his knees. His glasses were slightly askew and his shirt untucked, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, glancing up at me. I shook my head.

"I'm drunk," I said, slurred. Al glanced around him and took my arm and helped me out the front door and into some fresh air.

"Stay here, I'll get you some coffee. Keep out of sight of mum and dad and the like please," he begged, before running inside again. I sat down against the brick wall, pushing back the hair from my face. The air was making me feel better. Think clearer. But all I could think of was the kiss someone had given me.

"Coffee," Al said, out of breath. He handed me a steaming cup and slumped down next to me. I took a big gulp, smiling after I remembered Rose's little blue pills that almost did the trick last time. But that time, I was much too drink.

"Somebody kissed me," I said quietly. Al turned to me in surprise.

"Like forcibly?"

"No, no…it was just surprising. I don't even know who it was."

"Hm," Al said, turning back to face forward. "Well, you sound more sober now, so maybe…" But the rest I didn't hear, because I drifted off right onto his shoulder.

**Eve's POV**

"Is this some kind of a fucking joke?" I asked quietly, all my tipsiness instantly gone. It was as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold, cold water right on me. I was alert and ready for anything. I was looking at James, not the man behind him.

"Cursing isn't very good, you know," the man said. My eyes snapped to his. They were the same shade as mine, and I shook it off, feeling anger rising inside of me. I was shaking from it.

"Are you actually trying to advise me?" I struggled to keep my voice as quiet as possible, because one, I didn't want to make a scene, and two, at this very moment, my voice probably could've brought down the entire hall. "You skip out on seventeen years of my life, and now you're trying to _advise _me?"

"Actually, sixteen. Your birthday is on the sixth of February."

I couldn't believe this.

"I don't care why the fuck you're here. Okay? I really don't. I'm leaving. I don't want to know someone who never wanted to know me. So fuck off."

I turned and began to walk away when I heard James yell behind me. I turned around and pushed him away from me before he could get any closer. He stumbled backward and fell onto the ground. "And to think I almost fell in love with you, you selfish fucking bastard. I'm not some sort of damsel in distress you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you _fixed_," I hissed at him, before turning back around and running out the door.

* * *

><p><strong>NA: **Sorry for all the back and forths! I kind of had to do a few more perspectives and shorter storylines to make this thing work! Reviews please guys, although I'm loving all the people who are adding Secrets to their story lists! I love you all :)


	16. Spiked Eggnog

**Spiked Eggnog**

Someone stopped me and I fought against them, trying to push them away, but whoever it was held on hard. "Stop," I yelled, pushing away. I looked up and saw a masked face, a damn good mask too, and got frightened. "Who are you? Let me go!"

He reached up and whipped his mask off and it was just Scorpius. I slumped against him in relief and he pulled me closer. "I saw all of that," he said quietly. "Come on, we're getting away from here."

He raised his wand into the air and after a second, we heard the loud clanking of a bus. It came to a stop in front of us. The door opened and a pretty witch stepped out. "Welcome to the Knight Bus for Wizard and Witch transport. I'm Janice at your service. Where you all headed to?"

"Diagon Alley please," he said. He took my hand and we both climbed in.

He didn't say anything for the entire bus ride, something I was grateful for. He seemed preoccupied with something himself. I was trying not to think, and I needed a distraction.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He turned to me and smiled, but it was a bit of a sad smile.

"I'm in love with someone I think will never, ever love me back," he said.

"Who wouldn't love Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Very funny. But I know you can keep a secret. Rose Weasley could never love Scorpius Malfoy, that's who."

I turned to him, surprised. "Rose?"

"Yes, Rose. I realized it today at the ball, and I kissed her."

"You did? So she knows?"

"No, I left before she knew who kissed her. Just, don't say anything."

"Why'd you leave?"

because as soon as I did I realized how unlikely it could be for her and me to actually be together. And I don't want her to have to ever feel bad. Plus, something like this will break our friendship. And losing Rose as a friend—well, I've been through that, and let's just say I'm not going through it again."

I laid my hand on top of his, genuinely feeling bad for him. "But you know, she might realize that she loves you too."

"Well, I'll let her come to me in that case. Until that, I'll be the best friend anyone ever had," he said, smiling slightly. The bus stopped, doors open, and Janice yelled out "Diagon Alley!"

"Come on, let's go get some coffee. Sober up a bit," he said. We walked in silence all the way to the coffee shop, took a seat, and the bar lady got us two coffees.

"So," he started. I could tell he was waiting for me to say something, and he had probably been for a while.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said. He nodded.

"I get that."

"Can you bring me back to the party though, after coffee? I don't want to worry Rose's parents."

"Yeah of course," he said. He put his arms in his head and let out a groan. "Coming to the ball was so stupid. I just… I hate being a goddamn Malfoy."

"I'm sorry, Scorpius. I really am," I said sincerely.

"Ah, who am I to gripe? What happened to you was much worse. I mean, _how fucking dare Potter_? Ugh," he said, slamming his fist down on the table.

"Seriously, let's not talk about this," I said again. He closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded.

**Rose's POV**

"Rose, up!" Groaning, I turned over in bed, just to be yanked out by my mother.

"What, mum, I'm trying to sleep," I said, trying to fight her.

"No you're going to get the hell up right now, Rose Jane Weasley!" she screeched. I jumped up, realizing that she was pissed. "You have the gall to get wasted under your parent's very noses?"

"Mum, I—"

"You are grounded. There will be no outings for you anymore this vacation! And Eve—" I turned to see that Eve was sitting up, her eyes wide as saucers, looking scared, "honey I'm not your mother, but I don't think that you should be drinking yet. I know you're almost seventeen but you're still only sixteen, and so—"

"It won't happen again Hermione," she said, apologetically.

Mum looked uncomfortable, shot a scathing look in my direction, and walked out. "Damnit, I'm in trouble."

"Shit, I came to your house and pissed off your parents even though they've done so much," Eve said, putting her head in her arms. I went and sat down on her bed.

"Relax, they're not mad at you. They love you actually. Probably rather would have you as a daughter than me," I groaned. My head was pounding. Things were starting to come back to me though, from last night, and I sat up in bed quickly. "Eve, someone kissed me last night," I said.

**Eve's POV**

I fought to keep my face unreadable as she said this, remembering how adamant Scorpius was that she could not know. "I thought it was Riley at first, but it was unfamiliar, so it couldn't be him," she said, looking lost in thought.

"Yeah," I said, "that's weird. Must have been some drunk person."

"Hm, but the thing is, he felt so in control. It wasn't sloppy or anything, like, it was gentle and kind of—"

"Wait, are you telling me you liked it?" I asked, surprised. She flushed red and nodded.

"Yeah I think I did."

Oh shit. This could be more complicated than it was.

"Eve, what happened to you? You look horrible. You want some coffee?"

"Thanks," I said, sarcastically. "But no. Last night… well it wasn't a good night." I stood up and stretched, heading for the bathroom before Rose could interrogate me further.

**Rose's POV**

I wonder what had happened to Eve. She looked really bad. I groaned, seeing the bracelet sitting on the dresser next to her side of the bed. She must have taken it off. Which meant that she and James got into a fight.

God-damnit, I would have to do some damage control.

Which I was not in the mood for, given my current state of grounding and my mystery kisser. Oh and studying for my O.W.L.s. That was pretty up there on my To-Do list.

"So, is Eve really terribly angry with James?" Hugo asked, poking his head into my room. I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said, smiling despite myself. "What's it to you Hugo?"

He turned the typical Weasley color, mumbled something incoherent, and ran out of the room. I sighed. Poor Hugo. He was the youngest one out of all of us, even Lils, and he really did get the short end of the stick sometimes.

Lunch was a sullen affair. I could tell Eve was feeling very awkward, Hugo just looked sad, dad looked uncomfortable, and mom was still fuming a bit. Except now it was mostly directed towards dad for not being a good father and being mad at us too. He kept saying in his own defense that "she had handled it well enough on her own" which then just pissed her off more.

The Potters didn't come by, and I expect they were having their own little sit down angriness, with Uncle Harry being just like dad and not saying anything. But Aunt Ginny—I let out an involuntary shudder and felt sorry for those muckers.

We all felt relieved when lunch was over and rushed out to the backyard. Eve slumped down in a lawn chair and looked absolutely miserable. Hugo found a chair next to her as I tried not to laugh.

"Don't worry, Eve. This happens just about every year. And they're really not mad at you," I said, trying to be comforting.

Mum walked onto the back porch a few minutes later, and I expected the worse. "Eve, there's someone at the door for you," she said sweetly, before turning and giving me a fuming glance.

"What, who would be here to see me?" Eve asked, surprised. I shrugged, confused myself. She stood up and went into the foyer, and I followed her.

**Eve's POV**

I saw him standing at the door and I wanted to scream. Instead, I walked over to him and shut the door in his face. I could feel Rose's surprise behind me and she hurried to open the door again, giving me an angry look on the way.

"Please don't shut the door again," he said, as I turned to reach the door.

"Please come in," Rose said, gesturing him into the room.

"No I am not sticking around for this bullshit," I said. "Look, I don't want to know you," I said angrily.

"Obviously, you're angry with me," he said, frowning, "but you have to let me explain."

"No, I don't have to do anything," I said.

"Your mom left me no choice but to leave you with her. She threatened to end her own life if I took you. She said you're all she had left and that she would take care of you," he said hurriedly. This just made me more angry.

I could see Rose backing out of the room, completely shocked.

"SHE DIDN'T TAKE CARE OF ME!" I screamed at him. "BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT BECAUSE NOT ONCE DID YOU CHECK UP ON ME YOU _SON OF A BITCH_!" He visibly flinched and stood up.

"Evelyn, I know—"

"It's Eve," I said, cutting him off.

"Eve, I know that you hate me. I don't expect your forgiveness. But I'm your father, Eve. Your own blood. And I want to know you. I want to be your father for once. Just give me a chance."

"Gary, is it?" I asked. He nodded. "You weren't my father for 16 years. We might have the same stinking blood, but never will we be family. You didn't even seek me out, someone sought you out _for me_, and now you're just feeling guilty which I assure you, please do not. I don't need you, nor have I ever. I have taken care of my mother for my whole life and now she's recovering. I'm in a good place in my life and I'm not messing it up with a _father_ I never knew nor do I ever want to know. So just get the fuck out," I said.

He stood up, looking sad.

"I'm not giving up, Eve. I know you're in England, and so am I. I am going to put forward the effort to know a daughter I shouldn't have let go of—ever. One day, you'll open up to me. I'll be ready. James Potter knows how to find me," he said, before turning and walking out.

**Rose's POV**

It was New Year's Eve before we got to see anyone again. We were on our way to the Burrow and I was feeling stress free because there would be no Riley to piss me off. Eve wasn't speaking as usual, but I could sense she was dreading meeting James.

I couldn't blame her. What a meddling prick. He had crossed a line.

Anyway, we got there and all our cousins were already there. As predicted, the eggnog was not spiked this time, due to our rambunctious Christmas drinking. It was a shame really. Eve sat as far away from James as possible, and he didn't seem to be looking at her either. I pulled him aside just before dinner.

"I can't believe what you did," I said matter-of-factly.

"Will you just shut it Rose?" he asked angrily. "I knew that the possibility of it backfiring was there okay? I was aware of the consequences."

"You're an idiot. You two were finally getting somewhere."

"Yes I know. She even told me that she thought she was falling in love with me. Can you believe it?"

"Yes, you moron. Yes. And then you went and fucking destroyed it all."

"Well who doesn't want to meet their father, Rose? I don't get it."

"Your father has been there your whole life. Everyone you know has a father who has been there all their lives. But Eve's father _walked out_. You know what that means? He left her when she was a baby for her crackhead mum to take care of her. Would you want to meet that kind of person? Blood isn't everything. And you should've minded your own goddamn business this time," I said.

He let out a quiet groan of despair and held his head in his hands. "I'm so stupid. I want to make this right," he said.

"Well, good luck with that," I said. I could tell he was hurt, but I was just so appalled at his obvious meddling I couldn't muster enough sympathy to tell him he could fix this. Because I didn't think he could fix it.

**Eve's POV**

I could tell all the Weasleys didn't really know how to have that good of a time without their eggnog spiked. Everyone was kind of brooding around and it was hard not to be slightly amused. I settled myself down in a corner of the kid-room. Rose told me the story of this room in the Burrow. It still had the walls painted the color of James's nursery—a light blue with broomsticks all over it. It became where all the Weasley kids gathered with cribs, strollers, changing stations and all. But over time, these same baby things came out but the kids remained.

We were all full of delicious food and I could feel James's eyes on me, but I determinedly looked away from him, absolutely furious. But during the point in time when the conversation started getting louder when Fred came in with a bunch of Weasley fireworks to bring in the New Year, which was only an hour away, I was pulled against my will outside by none other than James.

"You can't take a hint, Potter?" I spat at him. He didn't even flinch. "I don't want to talk to you," I hissed, pulling away. But he had a firm hold on my arm. "Let me go," I demanded. He shook his head. "Now," I said angrily. "Don't make me yell, Potter. I will bring this fucking house down."

"No you won't. You're too polite," he said quietly, his eyes fixed on my face. I pulled harder, getting madder and madder, but he just held on tightly.

"This is not going to make me _less mad at you_."

"I know that. I'm just going to wait until you're ready to listen."

"I hate you," I said quietly. His grip loosened for a second, but then was firm once again. "Let me go," I said, my resolve slowly breaking. This was killing me, this battle of will. I finally stopped and slumped against the wall in defeat. He let go of me. I thought about running for it, but I realized he would just catch me again. So I prepared to listen to his begging and pleading.

"You're stubborn and don't know how to forgive," he said, taking me completely by surprise. I whipped around angrily.

"You're the one who went against my wishes!" I said.

"I don't care if you're mad at me or if you'll ever forgive _me_ or if I could've had a chance with you. Because I saw the opportunity for you to actually have some kind of family and I wasn't about to let that go."

"Oh look at you, the hero, the family man, the fucking whole, pure, best friend selfless piece of shit—"

"I actually said none of that. I wasn't trying to _fix you, _contrary to your beliefs. And you can curse at me all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that there is a man out there who wants to be a father to you. You realize that people can change?"

"MY _FATHER _KNOWINGLY LEFT HIS ONE YEAR OLD CHILD WITH A CRACKHEAD MOTHER TO TAKE CARE OF, POTTER. That's a pretty huge fucking mistake to fix."

"Then don't ask that he fix it. Move on from it. Try to forget. Try to forgive if you can. You can gain a father. Or at least a friend. Just try it," he said and for the first time I heard a note of pleading. "I know you hate me, I believe you. But no matter what you feel about me I want you to meet this man and hear him out. Give him a chance. He deserves at least one chance."

I scoffed. "And why does he deserve a chance?"

"Because he's a human being."

"A pretty fucking terrible one."

"But one nonetheless. You're getting your chance. Your mother is getting hers. So give him one too," he said.

I saw Rose hurry towards us out of the corner of my eye. I turned just in time to see her slap James across the face, hard. He stumbled backward, his eyes wide.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU WEASLEY?" he yelled, rubbing his face.

"What are you doing with her? Trying to force her into talking to you? After you were being such a _fucking prick_?"

"Rose, it's okay," I said quickly before this turned into a blood brawl.

In retrospect, I regret having stopped Rose. It was quite good fun. She looked toward me, a bit shocked, and turned to glare at James one more time, before taking my hand and leading me back into the house. I turned to see James with his hand still on his red cheek and watching me, a pleading look in his eyes.

I guess I was thinking about it.

**A/N: Don't lose hope, fellas. Also, THESE REVIEWS ARE MAKING ME WANT TO WRITE LIKE CRAZY. I LOVE YOU ALL. KEEP THEM COMING! 3**


	17. Better Late Than Never

**Better Late Than Never**

**Rose's POV**

"Scorpius!" I exclaimed, poking my head into a compartment of Slytherins. Zabini just gave me a very shocked look but Scorpius stood up and left the compartment.

"Hey Rose, how are you?" he asked. It was so formal, and I was a bit taken aback.

"Good. Listen, thanks for the charm. I put it on a chain," I pointed to my neck and I saw his eyes travel there, "and I'm wearing it as a necklace."

"Good," he said, smiling. He brought his hand up to touch the little charm, "I'm glad you like it."

"Why are you being so—I don't know, weird—" I said, staring at him strangely. He shrugged.

"I'm not being weird."

"You're usually all jokey and what not, you're so… somber. Are you okay? Did something happen over break? Parents?"

"No, no nothing like that. Like I said, I had a lot of Muggle book reading time. Parents were out—the usual. How are you though? After the whole Riley thing?"

"I'm over it," I said, truthfully. I saw him earlier today and didn't even have the inclination to run out of the train compartment. I even gave him a small smile, which he looked grateful for.

"Good because you have another disappointment coming your way soon," he said.

"What?"

"Gryffindor's huge loss."

I shoved him. "James is captain and keeper. Al is seeker. We're going to win dumbass."

"Yeah, well I'm seeker, and I can beat _Potter_," he said, rolling his eyes. "Although, I must say, if I was at wand point and had to choose one of your family members to tolerate, it would probably be Albus."

"Oh Merlin, they're not that bad," I said.

"They beat me up and left me on top of the astronomy tower."

"I thought we were past all that!"

"We are," he said, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "I just have to guilt trip you every now and then. Had a nice Christmas?"

"Not really. There was so much drama. And I spent a lot of it avoiding Riley."

"Drama of what sort?"

"Someone kissed me, Scorp. On the lips during the Boxing Day ball and I have no idea who."

His brow furrowed and he seemed worried. "Did you like it?"

I stared at him, not expecting this question what so ever. "I… yeah I guess. It was kind of nice, but I just wish who I knew who it was…"

"Well, I'm sure it was some drunk guy."

"Mmm… well you better get back to your Slytherin friends. By the way, tell Zabini to pick his jaw up off the ground next time I come to say hi to you."

**Eve's POV**

I was sitting in the Weasley compartment listening to everyone talk about the first (and late, thanks to me) Quidditch game. It was against Slytherin, so it was apparently a very big deal. James had not spoken to me after New Year's night, but he seemed comfortable enough to be around me. Unfortunately, I could not say the same.

I looked up as Rose came in, looking confused but happier after visiting Scorpius. I wanted to smile to myself, but there was too much on my mind to be able to muster enough caring for her and Scorpius's star-crossed lover spiel. Instead, I tried to focus on the conversation in the compartment.

"No, Montague has been training since October illegally," Al was saying.

"He still won't have the advantage, we're so much better at them. That extra practice couldn't have caught them up so much," Fred continued.

"Al, I would be worried about Malfoy if I were you. He's got skills and we all saw them last year," James said. "I hate to say it though, dumb git."

"Hey, lay off," I heard Rose say, to the general snickers of everyone except Al, who was too polite to do so.

I'm trying out for Chaser next year," Lily said suddenly. Everyone seemed surprised at this statement.

"We'll see how you do then," Al said, trying to suppress a smirk. She glared at him.

"I'll be so good you'll _have _to take me," she said gruffly.

"Ok_ay_ then," James said. Lily stood up, gave her brothers a very obscene and un-lady like gesture (but hey who the heck am I to judge?) and left the compartment, slamming the door behind her. It opened just about a second later and in walked Laney, Dona, Reed, and Liz.

"Hello Gryffindors!" they said happily. Everyone gave them a cheery hello back, except for Rose, who seemed to be lost in thought. I, meanwhile, was craning my neck to make sure Renee didn't walk in behind them. Although I have no idea why she would even dare do that. Most of the compartment would probably hex her into next week if the opportunity arrived. The compartment was bursting with people now, and I noticed Hugo, Rox, Molly, Lucy, and Louis squeeze out, freeing it up considerably.

Laney took a seat next to me, and Liz and Dona took a seat on the compartment floor. Reed made straight for Fred and sat in the empty seat next to him, something that I saw James and Riley notice and elbow each other. The rest of the train ride went on to include more Quidditch hype, bickering, witty comments, and the occasional sexual remark. Getting back to Hogwarts was almost regretful.

There was an owl for me during breakfast. Hedwig II to be more specific I guess. I reached out and untied the letter, pushed a piece of toast toward the preening owl, and unrolled the letter.

_Eve,_

_Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I'm doing very well here and I thought I'd let you know. I miss you very much. Write back soon, ok? There's really nothing much to do here but read. I've read a lot of books too! _

_Love,_

_Your mother_

I sighed, folded the letter up, and stuck it in my pocket for later. I would respond, but I was not in the mood currently. Reed, looking sleepy, entered the Great Hall and made a beeline for me. She yawned and grabbed the nearest plate of sausages.

"So," I started, "Fred?" She dropped the fork she was holding and looked at me in surprise.

"How'd you know?"

"It was so obvious on the train. I think the only one who didn't see it all laid out in front of them was well… Fred, unfortunately. I think he'd like you too though, if you let him know," I say, smiling slightly.

"Shut it, Eve. You and James are more ridiculous. The sexual tension in that compartment was off the charts."

"James is a git," I stated simply. I think she caught on that I was serious and shrugged before going back to her sausages.

**Rose's POV**

The weirdest thing happened. Al's friend, Mark Walker just asked me to the Hogsmeade trip coming up. I stared at him for a few seconds. He was handsome and tall and pretty much everything you'd want in a guy. But then my brain wandered to Riley and how I thought he was too… and he turned out to not even like girls.

So forgive me for asking the question I asked next.

"You're not gay are you?"

He stared at me in complete surprise. "No, I am not gay," he stated. I narrowed my eyes at him and he widened his own. I was probably completely creeping him out. I shrugged. I had hung out and spoken with Mark plenty enough, considering he was with Al often. He was a good Quidditch player and a damn good Potions maker. So I nodded my yes.

"Okay… good," he said, turning to leave. But he stopped and turned to me. "Do I come off as gay?" he asked, sounding worried. I grinned and shook my head no.

"I'm just cautious. I've heard of weird things happening lately."

"Oh… okay good," he said, before turning and walking away.

I had rounds tonight. On the Friday night before the game. Which sucked because I had to miss the before-party that James was throwing in the common room. But at least I had Scorpius to keep me company.

He was tapping his foot impatiently when I found him waiting in the usual corridor. "Oh please, I'm on time. Just because you're early for everything doesn't mean you can expect it from everyone," I snapped. He just grunted and we began walking. There was no lack of anything to do. It was past 11 and there were underclassman everywhere. It was always like this before a Quidditch game I suppose.

Scorpius was getting angrier after each person he told off, and at one point, he actually gave a detention slip. Finally, I pulled him aside.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he said, not looking at me.

"Yeah right," I said, rolling my eyes. "You're being broody."

"I am not being _broody_ Weasley," he said harshly.

"Right, and James and Eve are making out in that next broom closet," I said sarcastically. He didn't even crack a smile. "Is it the game? Is it making you nervous knowing that Al will catch the snitch before you do?

"Oh yes that's it. I'm scared of Potter," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Then what is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Weasley. Don't worry about it." And then just like that, his irritated face was gone and he seemed calm again.

**Scorpius's POV**

Merlin, I was being stupid. It wasn't like she was going with that Walker bloke to make me jealous. She didn't know how I felt for her. I had to pull myself together or she was going to see right through me. Either that or she'll just pull away from me. And Rose as a taken friend was a damn sight better than no Rose at all.

Or was it. Could I do this? Could I be around her like this for any longer? Just her friend and always longing for more? Could I look into those beautiful brown eyes and know that I could never be the one who makes them spark with lust and love?

I was turning into a sap.

"Look," I said, turning to Rose, "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge. With the whole Quidditch match coming up and I'm a bit out of practice." She looked suspicious and I wanted to hit myself.

"James said that all of you were practicing illegally since October."

"Whatever. Still nervous." How did that git know that anyway? She laughed and relief settled over me.

"You're scared of Al. As you should be. We are going to kick your asses," she said in a sing-song voice. Merlin, it was endearing.

"Listen, when we win will you come to the Slytherin after party?" I asked.

She glared at me. "Oh please. As if there will even be one."

**Eve's POV**

The normally empty Quidditch stadium (as far as I've seen) was swarming with people. I've never seen it like this. Laney and I fought through the crowds to try and sit by Dona. We made it just as the first round of announcements began.

"_Hello, I'm Mickey Dawkins, and welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season! It's a bit late, but better late than never!"_ I looked around and saw a Ravenclaw seventh year sitting in the commentator box.. "_And here comes the Slytherins! Scorpius Malfoy, seeker! Cara Parkinson, chaser! Devin Zabini, chaser! The two twin beaters, Derrick and Rebecca Rogge! Keeper, Samantha Matthews! And finally, Slytherin captain and chaser, Nicholas Montague!" _There was a whole lot of cheering coming from the Slytherin side and I think I even saw Rose clapping discretely when Malfoy flew in.

"_And now the Lions, favored to win today's game! Albus Potter, seeker! Aga—oh sorry Reed—Price, chaser! Elizabeth, or Liz, Jennings, chaser! Mark Walker, chaser! Our beaters, Fred Weasley and Riley White! And finally, Gryffindor captain and keeper, newly stated James Potter! What great teams, and what a wonderful game we have to look forward to!_"

There was an enormous cheer for the Gryffindors, with support pouring in from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. I clapped along with them, and figured I might as well enjoy it. I had never been to a Quidditch match before. Salem had their share of Quidditch, but I was always too busy with my own mom to go to any of the matches.

"_Jennings is the first with the Quaffle—"_ Laney grabbed my hand and we both watched tensely as Liz flew toward the Slytherin goals—_"passes it to Walker, back to Jennings, oh there to Price, and back to Walker and back to Jennings and—RIGHT PAST ROGGE!" _The crowd went wild, and I watched as Scorpius stopped still in midair to look back at the game, a scowl on his features. _"10-0 Gryffindor!"_

"_Montague has the Quaffle, passes it to Zabini, looks like he's just going to go for—oh can't get it past Potter! Bad luck, Zabini! The Quaffle is now with Jennings again and—has AL POTTER SEEN THE SNITCH?" _Everyone whipped around to watch as Al did a nose dive. I saw Scorpius dive as soon as Mickey brought attention to Al and they were neck and neck. I squinted and saw the tiny golden fleck they were chasing. But one blink, and it was gone.

"_And the snitch has disappeared folks, that was close!_" "Damn," I heard Dona swear. _"Back to Jennings—ooh look at her go. I love watching that girl!"_ Laney turns to smirk at the rest of us. _"Montague steals it and he's going for it—maybe you should try for a bit more teamwork there, Montague—oh see what I told you? PRICE WITH ANOTHER GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!"_

The game went on this way, with no sign of the snitch. It had already been an hour and a half and Slytherin hadn't scored even once. They were trailing so far behind with 140-0 it was ridiculous. Now all Al had to do was catch the snitch and the game would be over. Everyone was watching the seekers now, because the pressure was on them. If Scorpius caught the snitch, then Slytherin could still win.

"_Another goal for Gryffindor!" _Mickey's voice boomed out. "_140-0! AND SCORPIUS MALFOY HAS SEEN THE SNITCH!" _My heart plummeted. I saw Rose stand up for a better view, biting her fingernails. I wasn't sure who she was supporting…

Al and Scorpius were neck and neck, and I couldn't help but see the death glares passing between them. I could almost feel the air whistling in my own ears. And Scorpius caught the snitch. _I _even heard James's loud curse, which earned him a very loud whistle from Chang, the referee. _"AND SLYTHERIN WINS THE GAME! THIS IS ASTOUND—"_

"_WAIT!" _ I heard a chirpy voice echo through the crowd. A hush fell over the stadium and everyone looked over at the commentator box. Professor Flitwick, the charms professor, was craning to be seen (which was hard, considering he's so tiny). "_Slytherin has not won the game! Price, Jennings, and Walker all scored while Malfoy was catching the snitch! This game is Gryffindor's with 170-150!_"

There was a ringing silence while everyone tried to comprehend what just happened. Then, James could be seen hollering like an idiot and flying full speed toward his three shocked chasers, before enveloping them in a _huge_ hug.

The crowd went wild.

**A/N: Fluffy chapter, but who doesn't like a good Quidditch game, amiright? :)**


	18. The After Party

**The After Party**

**Rose's POV**

I watched as Scorpius left with the rest of the team, looking a bit defeated, even though Scorpius kept being patted on the back for his obvious exceptional snitch catching. Al was probably taking the shit for that, but not too much, considering we won.

I was tempted to go to the after party, but I noticed Scorpius walking away from the rest of the team and toward the grounds. I followed him. He went and sat next to the lake, and I joined him.

"Hey you," he said, grinning. "Gryffindor won, fancy that!"

"You caught the snitch though," I said, putting my head on his shoulder. He rested his head on mine. He was sweaty, but he still smelled good. Which was weird. Don't judge me.

"That's because I'm awesome. Just… wrong time, damnit," he said, slamming a fist into the grassy ground.

"Want to come to the after party?"

"You're kidding right?" he asked.

"Not really, but I guess I see why you wouldn't want to."

"Damn straight," he said, chuckling. "Have the Potty boys throwing the loss in my face the whole time? And having to be around more Weasleys? In the Gryffindor common room? Sounds like hell."

"Oh shut it," I said.

"So are _you _going to rub it in my face?" Scorpius asked me. I shook my head.

"Never. Except you know, we did win."

"You just can't resist getting a dig in."

"Nope, I can't. I apologize!"

"I don't want your meaningless apologies, Weasel," Scorpius said, in a fake malicious tone.

"It was a good game you know," I said, trying to be nice.

"Our chasers are shit man."

"Nah, our keeper is just the best ever," I corrected.

"James Potter is an arse. And nothing but an arse," Scorpius said.

"Maybe, but he can sure play well."

"Damn straight," Scorpius said, sounding regretful, but grinning all the same.

"So can you, Malfoy," I said, smiling. He looked surprised at this and put an arm around me.

"Thanks Weasley."

**Eve's POV**

I came down from the dormitories after washing up and finishing a little bit of homework and found that the Gryffindor common room was packed. The smell of firewhiskey was traversing the air and it was not giving me fond memories. I saw James smack in the middle of everything, having a shot-downing competition with Fred. I spotted Al sitting in the corner alone, nursing a bottle of firewhiskey. This I found odd, but then realized that he hadn't caught the snitch.

I walked over to him and sat down. He turned and grinned at me, a little lopsidedly.

"What's up Al? Why the long face? We won!" I said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Scorpius Malfoy caught the goddamn snitch though," he growled. No really, he growled.

"That's okay. Nobody even cares! You _almost _caught it. And anyway, it only matters who won the game in the end."

"True," he said, his voice slurring. His face got serious and he placed a hand on mine. "Eve," he said solemnly.

"Al," I replied, trying not to grin.

"You _have_ to forgive James, he's going mental without you." I looked toward the man of the hour and saw him rubbing his belly after his win. Al followed my gaze and then looked a bit worried. "No really, he might look like a complete minger, but he really likes you. Cares about you, you know?"

"No. If he cared, he wouldn't have done what he did," I said sadly.

"Have a drink, and think about it some more, and you'll realize that he did it because he cares. That's the thing about my brother—when he cares about people, he does things for them even if he knows he'll be hated for it. Because he does them because he thinks he'll help in the long run. The things he does aren't for himself. Unlike what most people do," Al said. I frowned and took a swig of the firewhiskey he handed me. It burned pretty badly as it slid down my throat. He stood, stretched, smiled at me and walked away, leaving me with what he just said.

Al was making this too difficult for my liking. And he was making much, much too much sense for my liking. Especially the more I drank.

**James's POV**

I couldn't help but watch Eve and Al, who was drunk off of his ass. But then again, so was I. She seemed to be worrying over something after he left, and she just kept drinking. She was on her like… third bottle. Or was it fourth? I had lost count after drinking my third shot. Al had gone off to talk to someone, but Eve was still sitting there. I knew she hated me, but what could I lose in that case?

"Dude have you seen Rose?" a very drunk Mark Walker asked, stumbling a bit. I shook my head. He looked a bit sad. I narrowed my eyes at this boy who was probably after my cousin. "You better not be trying to find her in such an inebriated state. Sober up Walker before you even step into the presence of my cousin or it's your ass on the line," I warned. He looked a bit frightened. Good.

I walked over to her and sat down. She turned and frowned even more at my presence. Great, I was off to an awesome start. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Fricken dandy," she replied.

"What's wrong?" I asked, prodding.

"Nothing. Al said some shit and now I'm actually sitting here and considering it. Must be because I'm drunk"

"Al's like that. He says smart shit. And he looks like Harry Potter so that has extra, extra effect on everything," I said, getting a bit of a laugh from her. It was beautiful, the way she threw her head back and her laugh seemed to come from her diaphragm. She licked her lips once and looked back toward me, before taking a nother swig.

"You've had a lot to drink, Eve," I said sternly, trying to take the drink from her hand. She pulled it away from me, giggling slightly.

"You're a jerk," she said. "Don't try and take my drink. Plus, you tried to make me meet my father. He's such a git. He makes me feel guilty for not giving him a chance. But the weird thing is, he was the dad who walked out on his own baby." She leaned in so close to me, I could smell the firewhiskey, and felt a little woozy myself. She gave a short bark of laughter and pulled away. "But now it's my decision to walk away or not. But for some reason, if I walk away like he did, it makes me an unforgiving, cold hearted bitch."

"I love you," I said. Wait. What did I say? I stared at her, my brain furiously trying to backpedal out of what I just said. Because there is no way I just told her that. She watched me, her mouth open slightly and her eyes wide.

"_You're_ drunk," she accused, a bit slurred. Yes! She gave me the perfect opportunity to correct my mistake.

"True feelings come out when someone's drunk," I said. No, no, no that's not what I wanted to say! She watched me with narrowed, slightly suspicious eyes.

"You know that time you caught me crying? And I said I had dust in my eye?" she asked me, turning back to face forward. I remembered pretty well and I nodded. "My mom had written the word _love_ and signed her name underneath."

I watched her. "It was the first time someone had ever said they loved me."

This might have been the saddest thing she had ever said. I reached out and put a hand on hers. She didn't pull away like I expected. Instead, she turned to watch me instead. "Maybe Al was right," she mused. I wondered dimly what Al had said. But I was definitely too preoccupied with the fact that her eyes were fixated on my lips.

And then the most unexpected thing happened. She leaned over and our lips met. It was like nothing I've ever known in the world. And I've had my share of kisses. But this, this was something else entirely. Her lips were soft and sweet, her hands were intertwining with mine, and I lifted her up, not quite steadily, and headed to my room.

**A/N: Yes I know this is very, very short chapter. I was originally going to make it part of the last one, but I wanted to do it some justice. Plus, there's a _lot_ more of this story to go. Hope you enjoyed!**


	19. A Turn of Events

**A Turn of Events**

**Rose's POV**

I woke up in shock. I was laying down on Scorpius's arm next to the lake. Panicking, I tried to recall everything that happened and gave a sigh of relief. Our clothes were still on and I guess we had just fallen asleep next to the lake last night talking. It was really, really early. The sun was just sending pink streaks into the sky without having shown itself yet. Scorpius was snoring softly, his head tucked into the crook of my arm and his floppy blonde hair going up and down with every tiny snore. I smiled and pulled myself away from him, trying not to wake him.

It didn't work.

"Rose?" he said quietly, turning toward me. He opened his eyes and looked at me questioningly. "What the hell are we doing here?"

I laughed. "I guess we just… fell asleep out here. You stink, Malfoy."

Scorpius looks down at himself and crumples his nose. "You're right. Damn I need a shower. I'm going to head to the dungeons. You'll be ok?" he asked me. I nodded and he stood up, stretched and I watched him go. I suddenly felt so happy that I could be with him like this, without worrying about my stupid family. It used to be so much sneaking around, and even though my family still hates his guts in general, they've stopped giving me so much shite about being his friend.

His friend.

I thought about falling asleep next to him, feeling so comfortable, so safe. He's been with a fair few girls, even though he was only fifteen. He's been around the block and if I were to ever be one of those girls, I'd find it intimidating.

Then I thought about it. When's the last time he's bragged about a girl anyway? Not since Parkinson, the pig. I frowned. That wasn't normal for him. He was always chasing after some girl or the other. I stood up and began to walk over to the Gryffindor tower, thinking of having a good bath for myself.

/

Except that didn't happen, because instead, I saw Eve stumbling out of the 6th year boys dormitory, looking extremely sheepish and extremely shocked and very hung-over.

"Eve?" I asked, running toward her to catch her before she fell over. There were tears in her eyes. "Eve talk to me?"

"I can't believe… oh God, I can't believe I slept with him," she said quietly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Slept with who?" I prompted, even though I had a fairly good idea.

"James," she said, letting out a bit of a sob and sinking down onto the top step.

"Shh, he'll hear you. Come on," I said, helping her up. She followed me quietly down the stair case and toward the armchairs. She immediately slumped down into one of them and I scooted over to her. "What happened?"

"He… we were drunk and oh my god, what the hell is wrong with me?""

"Eve, snap out of it." I said firmly. Sometimes you had to be firm with people. She looked up and immediately seemed to realize that she was being a sobbing, blubbering baby and her face cleared up and the familiar hardness came back to her eyes.

"I was drunk—"

"Was he drunk too?" I ask quickly.

"Um… yes, he was having a shot contest with Fred so I assume he was," she said. Oh yeah, then he definitely was because he never loses shot contests.

"Okay, go on."

"We were drunk and… Al… Al had something to do with this."

Oh Merlin, if she was about to tell me that all three of them—

"Oh yeah! He came and told me to forgive James because he cares about me and that's why he did it and just a bunch of things that irritated me. And so I started drinking and he made more sense and then James came and sat down next to me and started joking around and I was starting to warm up to him. One thing led to another and I—well fuck—lost my virginity to your cousin."

I stared at her. "And… now?"

"Now he's going to expect me to be his girlfriend isn't he?" she asked, her voice fearful.

"Well… yes…"

"But I don't want that!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. "It was a mistake."

Now, James is my cousin and hearing this pissed me off a bit. Harlot. But that was just my first instinctual reaction. But I understood what she was saying, repressed this angry side of me, and continued to keep my arm on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm going to sleep," she said, standing up and heading up to her dormitories. I shrugged and went up to the fifth year girls' dormitory and took a very long shower, trying to forget about Eve and James, and how heart-broken James was about to be.

**/**

**James's POV**

I woke up. Sunday morning sun was pouring in through the windows and I could feel the chilly January air seeping through the windows and tugged the blankets more around myself. I caught that smell though, the smell of Eve and then everything came rushing back to me.

I checked the time and saw that it was well past eleven, meaning that Eve had probably gotten up and showered and such. She was a morning person after all.

A huge smile found its way to my face and I sat up in bed. I saw Fred snoring loudly in the bed next to mine and Riley shifting around in his sleep. There had been something wrong with him recently. And he still hasn't told me and Fred what the hell went on when he got beat up. I frowned for a second at the thought, but couldn't even keep that in my head because the thought of Eve's lovely soft skin touching mine just drove all those thoughts right out of my head and replaced my frown with a giant smile.

I threw my pillow at Fred, who groaned, and turned on his side.

"Wake up dude!" I said, getting up and shoving him off the bed. He groaned and sat up.

"What the fuck man?"

"Eve _spent the night_." His eyebrows shot up.

"No you're taking the shit."

"I'm not lying. And no it wasn't a dream."

"Jay, dude, not to burst your bubble, but were you both drunk?" I watched him, slowly understanding what might have happened. Even though I was drunk, I was in love with that girl. But Eve, well… she never really said anything like that to me. And she did leave…

"Yeah we were drunk. But she wouldn't have just… _slept_ with me. She's not like that," I said slowly.

Fred looked unconvinced. "If you're sure Jay." And then he went back to sleep, leaving me a bit troubled. I wasn't sure.

/

**Eve's POV**

I spent that whole Sunday shut up in the girl's dormitory, not daring to go downstairs. On the bright side, my homework was all caught up for and I'm pretty sure I studied for my next three History of Magic exams.

I even wrote a letter to my mom and snuck off to the Owlery during dinner, mailed it, and rushed back before dinner was over. I knew that James was probably somewhere, either really angry or really deluded. But I was definitely going to continue to avoid him as much as possible.

For the next three days, this plan went swimmingly. True, we had all classes together, but I was doing really well at not making eye contact with him and running away whenever he tried to approach me. As a result, he probably wasn't deluded anymore. It would be dim for him to be deluded. It was obvious I was avoiding him.

On the fourth day though, Rose grabbed my arm and pulled me aside as soon as I made for the dormitory stairs.

"What are you doing? You have to set James straight!" she said angrily.

"Rose, I'd rather it just go away," I hissed back at her.

"He is heartbroken and confused. His birthday is tomorrow! I am throwing him a surprise birthday party on tomorrow night and I do _not_ want him moping about _you_."

"Alright," I said, raising my palms. "Merlin, I'll get to it. Give a girl some time."

"Get to it. I don't have time to police you around. I have exams to study for and a party to plan."

"Alright, _mom_."

She shot me a glare and rushed away.

/

**Rose's POV**

"Jamesy!" I yelled excitedly, bursting into his room. Every single boy in the room shot up and began collecting sheets around their bodies, except Riley who just turned away from me. I didn't care though and I ran towards James's bed and jumped on it. "Happy birthday! You're legal!"

He grumbled at me. I heard something like "–so annoying" or something along those lines. But I wasn't worried. Instead I shook him awake and pulled him in upright sitting position.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped. "You would think that it's _your _birthday."

We had a pillow thrown in our direction and Fred yelled loudly at the two of us to "go to the common room you wankers!" I rolled my eyes and we stood up, making our way to the common room.

"Why am I up before class starts?" he groaned, settling himself down on my lap.

"James, I'm sorry about Eve," I said quietly, seeing it clearly on his face.

"Don't be sorry. I don't even know what happened yet. She won't talk to me."

I stared at him. She didn't say anything yet? I will kill that girl. Because there was still that look of hope in his eyes along with all the sadness. And I really just wanted to strangle Evelyn Martin. What a bitch.

"James—" I began, contemplating telling him myself. "I think—"

"I hope she doesn't think I just wanted sex. I wish she would talk to me so I could tell her I love her and want to be with her."

See this is what I was afraid of. He thinks it's _his_ fault. It's not even a good idea to tell him today, because well it's his _birthday. _And his birthday party! I'm really going to kill her. I had to find her. But first, I had to give James his present.

"I'm sorry about everything that's happening. She's avoiding me too," I lied because I knew that it was the next question on his mind. He's been asking me about her since Sunday. It was driving me crazy not being able to tell him the truth, but I kept it quiet for Eve's sake. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a tiny black box and handed it to him. His face lit up when he saw it and he grinned at me. He reached up and took it in his hands.

"I always knew you were my favorite cousin," he said happily, opening it. It flew right out of the box and hovered in front of his nose.

"Wow," he whispered, reaching up to touch it.

"You like it right?" I asked, a bit nervous. He sat up and kissed my head.

"Love it Rosie," he said happily.

/

I walked into the sixth year girl's dormitory to find everyone asleep. What was it with people not getting up before class started? My eyes landed on Renee's empty bed and smirked. She must have transferred. Bitch. I walked over and tapped Eve, who woke up in bed instantly.

"What's wrong?" she said, alert.

"Want to know what's wrong?" I asked harshly. She looked relieved and annoyed at seeing me.

"Oh it's just you."

"You didn't tell him yet?" I accused. She shook her head and at least had the decency to look mildly ashamed.

"I—didn't have the courage. I'll do it today."

"TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY!" I couldn't help but yell. This earned several angry groans from the other girls. I brought my voice down to a whisper. "Since you've screwed up and not told him yet, you're not going to until after his surprise party. You will continue to avoid him or you will pretend that you're thinking about it or something. I will _not_ have you ruin things."

She looked frightened, as she should.

"Fine," she said. "My pleasure. Now can you leave so I can shower?"

/

**James's POV**

Rose always gave spectacular gifts. My new miniature golden broomstick was flying around my head and it must have cost her a fortune. It had amazing detail and it was absolutely beautiful. Every now and then it did loops and tricks and it was almost a bit mesmerizing. Rose had already gone up for a shower and I was left in the common room sitting and playing with it. My thoughts invariably began to stray towards Eve, as usual. I looked up longingly toward the girl's dormitories. She must be up there. We had the next class together. I'd just sit here and wait for her to come down. She'd have to at some point.

**Eve's POV**

Ugh I was late. I grabbed my bag and started drying my hair with my wand while rushing down the stairs. Flitwick would really kill me, tiny as he is, if I didn't get to class on time. But I stopped short when I saw James on the sofa, something tiny buzzing around his head. Crap. Crap. What was I going to do? Maybe I could just miss class. No… I couldn't. I was learning a particularly hard spell in Charms.

God-damnit.

Well, I tried my best to just kind of walk along pretending as if he weren't on the sofa.

"Eve!"

Well that plan failed. I rushed out of the dormitory hole but not before I felt an immense force blocking my way. There was nothing physically in front of me, so I assumed it was James's magic. I turned and saw him running towards me.

"Eve, please don't walk away," he said, catching my arm.

I shrugged it away. "I'm late. So are you, so err… happy birthday and I'll talk to you later," I said, and ran as fast as I could. I know it was cowardly, but Rose had specifically told me not to tell him until after his surprise birthday party.

Maybe I should just kill myself instead.

/

**Rose's POV**

Everything was set up. There were so many people, it was unbelievable. Even Scorpius was here, although grudgingly, wearing a party hat and hiding behind one of the charmed armchairs next to Al. The lights were off, the firewhiskeys were in the ice buckets, the sweets were in the trays, and the food was lining the walls. The music was off for now, but was charmed to start playing _Happy Birthday _as soon as James walked in.

The door squeaked open and everyone jumped up and yelled _"SURPRISE!_" The lights turned on and the music began playing, only to show a very frightened and purple looking first year.

"I'm sorry!" he squealed, before running up to his own dormitory. I rolled my eyes and with a flick of my wand made everything back to normal.

"_YOU SLEPT WITH ME AND IT MEANT NOTHING? NOTHING TO YOU?"_

"_Oh please James, what did you think that I was sleeping with you because in my intoxicated state I realized my undying love for you? I was sad, vulnerable, and you were there!"_

"_I can't believe this. I'm done. I'm fucking done with this shit. You used me."_

"_Don't be such a girl, James."_

"_You were my first!" _

I looked around nervously and everyone had their mouths open. James Potter was a virgin? The whispering started like wildfire. Maybe the party thing wasn't such a good idea.

"_YOU WERE MY FIRST TOO. LET'S DANCE THE FUCKING MAMBA!" _

I was going to kill Evelyn Martin. I've said it before, but I was serious this time. The portrait hole opened, the music started playing, the lights came on, and a few people jumped up and said a feeble "surprise!" But most just stood slowly, some shocked and some uncomfortable. James looked around in complete surprise (not the good kind) and his eyes landed on me.

"Surprise?" I said quietly, shrugging, plastering a hopeful smile on my face. James just shook his head, stuck his hands in his pockets, and trudged up to his room. Eve looked mortified at the crowd. She ran up to her dormitories without a word.

Well fuck.

"I'll talk to him," Al said softly, standing up and making for the dormitories.

"And I'll kill her," I growled, making for Eve's.

/

**James POV**

Well that went swimmingly, I'd say. I groaned and sat down on my bed. Usually, I would never pass up a chance to party. But this time, I _really, really_ wasn't in the mood. Especially because that girl—I will not think of her name—will not give me the goddamn time of day. I can't believe that I was stupid enough to think that it was me. I mean, did I not know her? She was incapable of loving _anyone_. And now there's the fucking thing that the whole entire _fucking_ school knows that I'm a fucking sap. I was thinking about just ending it. You know, my entire life.

"Jay?" I looked up and saw Al. I gave him a weak smile and he sat down next to me. "Jay, what happened?"

"I finally caught her and made her talk to me. I was just so confused. Obviously I wouldn't have done it if I knew there was the fucking school on the other side of the door," I said angrily. "Goddamn Rose."

"It's not Rose's fault. She just wanted to plan a nice party for you," Al said frowning.

"I know," I groaned. "That's not what I meant really. I just—" I slammed the headboard next to the bed with my fist. I think Al got what I meant.

"Bro, you need to grow a pair and face the music. That girl is just _not_ into you right now."

"Always the sensitive one, Al."

"I'm just not used to seeing you all pathetic and what not. Where's my Quidditch captain? Where's my retarded older brother? Be your stupid self again and stop worrying about her. If you're meant to be, you're meant to be."

And as much as I hate to admit that my baby brother can be right sometimes, he was right.

"Now get down there and party like James Potter the Second."

/

**Rose's POV**

"You un_believable_ bitch of a girl!" I yelled, storming into the sixth year dormitories. It was empty seeing as how everyone was at the _fallout _party. Eve looked up at me and if I wasn't in such a raging mood, I would've felt sorry for her. She looked like she felt terrible. Her cat was in her lap and jumped at the sound of me. But I wasn't having it after she _ruined_ my party.

"Rose, I didn't mean to—"

"Explain yourself!" I yelled.

"I—Rose, he made me. He found me and basically forced it out of me."

"Are you _incapable_ of lying?"

"And breaking his heart twice as bad when I finally tell him the truth? You'd rather that?"

"Bloody hell! No. But goddamnit, Eve, he's my _cousin_. You did use him, and I don't even know what to say." I said angrily. Her cat was still staring at me. She was looking like I just slapped her.

"Rose—"

"You should go apologize to the group downstairs. They're really uncomfortable."

"Fine," she snapped. "If that will make you stop being such a bitch."

/

**Eve's POV**

I stormed downstairs, completely infuriated with everyone in the world. I mean, I got a pretty bad end here. I lost my virginity to someone I wasn't in love with and I was drunk. Drunk of my goddamn ass and sad. As if any of those others wouldn't have done the same thing. James should have known better.

I stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs. James was in the thick of everything, making out with Renee. I didn't even know she was back. My throat closed up and I couldn't move. I heard Rose coming up behind me and she stopped dead right next to me.

"She's back?" she breathed.

"Apparently," I said quietly, turning around and walking right back up the stairs.

/

**A/N: Here's an extra long chapter for my lovely readers. (Also, there's been spacing problems, and hopefully, I've fixed them in this chapter. I've been trying to do it so far, but it doesn't show up. Hopefully it shows up. **

**Okay sorry for that novel-length AN :) Stay awesome!**


	20. Life As We Know It

**Reunion of Sorts**

**Rose's POV**

I stayed rooted at the spot watching my idiot of a cousin making out with the girl who tried to ruin everything for Eve. Oh and broke his heart fifth year after she snogged that other bloke. I wanted to throw up.

"Hey." I looked up and saw Scorpius, who took my hand comfortingly. "I know."

"Well the whole fucking school is watching it right now. Why is he so stupid?"

"He's one of _your_ family," Scorpius pointed out. For once, I didn't disagree with him. My entire family was a bunch of wankers.

"Come on, let's go down to the dungeons. It's quiet."

"The Slytherin dungeons?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Oh come on, I've been here. You come there." I took one look at the party around me and realized how much I wanted to leave. I nodded and followed him out of the portrait hole.

/

The dungeons were dark and damp, but the common room was surprisingly warm. There were more fireplaces than in our common room, which made sense. There was green everywhere and it was almost nice. There were three kids sitting in a circle somewhere in the corner of the common room. I recognized one of them from Arithmancy. The other one was in sixth year with James. And then there was Zabini, who was sneering at me as usual.

The girl from Arithmancy stood up upon Scorpius's arrival and made a beeline for him.

"Who is this?" she demanded, seeing me. "Looks like a Weasley."

"She is a Weasley," Scorpius said forcefully. "Lay off, she's my best friend."

"Oh so you two aren't going?" she asked, her face back to its sickly sweet composure.

"No, we aren't," Scorpius said quietly. "What do you want Helen?"

"Hogsmeade tomorrow. Go with me?" she asked. Scorpius looked toward me, which was weird. I shrugged, not knowing what he wanted me to say, and he turned back to her and nodded.

"Sounds fine. I'll meet you here in the morning."

"Good," she said, before going back to the three-person group, who were all now snickering. Bloody Slytherins. I didn't even know why I was irritated. Well, other than the fact that my cousin was an idiot. Scorpius led me up to his dormitory and the girl who was apparently named Helen was glaring at me when I turned to look back.

His dormitory was empty and I sat down on his bed next to him.

"So, you going to hit that?" I asked jokingly. Scorpius frowned. "What, don't you usually make some sort of reference to that?"

"Rose, I should probably tell you the truth. I… well I'm a—I haven't really _ever_ hit that."

I looked at him in surprise. "What is it with everyone and lying about sex? Why'd you lie about those American girls and Parkinson and that other one girl—what's her name, Michelle? And then that Hufflepuff, Cassidy?"

"Because I'm a bleedin' Malfoy. Everyone thinks I should be hitting that. And to be honest, Michelle, Cassidy, and Patricia all told everyone that they slept with me before I told anyone. So they kind of wanted to lie."

"That's gross," I said, making a face.

"Yeah I found it kind of weird too. But I'm fifteen. I mean—I don't know. Not quite ready for anything more than the occasional snog."

"Scorp, it's fine," I said, touching his hand. "Thanks for telling me the truth though. I appreciate it." He squeezed my hand back and we both laid back and closed our eyes.

"So now that I'm up here," I began, "I should go down and tell everyone I did the dirty. Would I be revered amongst the Serpents because I have had the very highly regarded opportunity to have sex with the marvelous Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Your sarcasm hurts me," he says in mock seriousness.

"James is such a tool," I say, sighing.

"Amen to that."

/

**Rose's POV**

I awoke with a start. I was still in Scorpius's bed, resting on his shoulder. I really needed to stop falling asleep all night with him. It was going to come off as looking weird. I sat up and saw a bunch of Slytherin boys in all the other beds, snoring loudly. I rolled my eyes. All boys were the same, Slytherin or Gryffindor. I shoved Scorpius.

"_Rose_," he grumbled, "you're so bloody beautiful."

I stared at him. "Scorpius, wake up. You have a date to get to."

He opened an eye and groaned. "Damnit."

I just stared at him, trying to figure out what in God's name he was dreaming of to say something like that to me. I shook it off, realizing he's probably being sarcastic in his dream.

/

**Eve's POV**

I was down in the common room, staring out the window. The aftermath of the party didn't leave the tower looking any worse for wear. The House Elves really know their stuff. Mom had sent me a letter. She was coming down for a visit today—they were bringing her to Hogsmeade. I would be seeing her for the first time since August. It had wiped the James fiasco right out of mind. Laney, Reed, Dona, and Liz all filled me in on how she was back though. She hadn't come back up to the dormitories (obviously) and so in the night, when they all came back up, I asked them why. They said she said she had only been suspended, not expelled.

And she knew how to come back with a bang, alright.

But all of that seemed so irrelevant, due to the fact that I'd be seeing my mother in a few short hours. I had gotten up ages ago and gotten dressed. There were now a few people trickling down but no one bothered me, especially after last night's fiasco. My stomach felt queasy. What would she look like? Maybe her letters weren't real. Maybe she really hated me, but the place where she was didn't let her write that kind of stuff. These thoughts were so consuming I didn't notice when someone sat in the armchair next to mine.

"Hello Evelyn," I turned to see a particularly ugly seventh year. "Have a date to Hogsmeade?"

"No," I snapped. My bitch mode was once again back. There really was no way to get rid of it at this point. People really, _really_, aren't worth trusting. Look what I did—put my trust in someone just to have it all thrown back in my face.

"So you'll want to go with me," he said, as if he was stating it and not asking it. I turned to glare at him.

"Are you for fucking real?" I asked flatly. His look became a glare. "I don't even know your name."

"Everyone knows me name," he said pompously, but angrily too. "I'm Tom Yeller. So we'll go together yeah?"

"No. Not in a million years," I said harshly. To which he stood up and said something really weird.

"You'll pay for this." Is this guy serious? I almost laugh I'm so amused by his idiocy.

"Why were you talking to Yeller?" Rose said, coming up to me. She was watching the back of Yeller with a dark look in her eyes.

"I wasn't. He was talking to me," I said.

"Stay away from him. He went out with this girl when I was in third year and then she disappeared after she dumped him. Therese I think her name was. Anyway, there were rumors of rape and stuff going around. But obviously, Therese wasn't here to confirm or deny."

"Whatever. Hogwarts is known for spreading vicious rumors. Anyway, he's ugly as hell," I say bluntly. Rose shrugs and sighs.

"Anyway, I guess I have to go find Marc. We have a date."

"Good," I said, absently. "I'll see you in Hogsmeade."

/

**Rose's POV**

He looked cute and handed me puffpods as soon as I walked up to him. He even dropped them on the ground before he gave them to me so they burst into flowers. We walked to Hogsmeade together and stopped in at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, as usual. Uncle George was there, trying to sell some first year girls love potion.

"Uncle George," I said, walking up to the desk.

"Rosie! And Rosie's friend…?"

"Marc," I said, introducing them. They shook hands and Uncle George slipped him a few Nosebleed Nougats.

"Uncle George, you honestly better be careful who you sell love potions too. I'm pretty sure those girls were from the James and Al Potter fan club," I said, watching them read the labels with evil looks in their eyes. Although, if they were for James, I'd be all for it.

What a prat.

Anyway, Uncle George looked troubled at this revelation and gave me a box of Extendable Ears, fireworks, fanged Frisbees, and a few nosebleed nougats and puking pastilles. "To tide you over until the next trip," he said happily and sent me on my way.

We talked happily and had a good time making of fun of people walking by before I stopped feeling my fingers and Marc said that we should get indoors. So we made our way to the closest pub—the Hog's Head. It was a quiet pub with a bit of a creepy bartender who looked as old as the Earth itself. But today there were only a few people inside—Eve was standing at the door, and older woman was sitting at a table, and they were staring at each other both looking awestruck. And two guys who looked like body guards were standing quite still a bit away from both of them.

"Come on," I whispered to Marc, steering him back out of the pub.

/

**Eve's POV**

She looked so different. I'd never seen her like this. Her skin was not yellow, her eyes were only slightly pink, and her hair was neatly done and seemed to be thriving. It was the exact shade of dark brown as mine. She didn't look completely better, but there was a vibrant, fresh air about her. And it was like I was looking at a whole new person. Not a woman who had raised me. Or rather, a woman who've I've raised.

"Evelyn," she said softly, standing up. She didn't even fall over or stumble even slightly. She looked stronger and walked toward me. I noticed the two body guards tense up at this but I shot them a glare and they let it go.

"Mom," I said, walking toward her. And when she got to me, she put her arms around me and gave me a very, very strong hug.

I stood there, still, because I was so extremely shocked at what was happening. My mother was hugging me. I didn't know what to do with my hands. Didn't James show me? I reached up and hugged her back and when I heard her sobs, I gently pulled away. I gestured at the barman (who was quite old, now that I look at it) and he pulled out two dirty glasses and began cleaning them. I led my sobbing mother back to the table and sat down next to her.

"Mom, please don't—you look fantastic," I said, trying to change the subject. It seemed to work, as she stopped sniffling and watched me.

"I… I've been trying really hard. I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry I let you down. And I know no amount of apologies can fix sixteen years of this but—"

"Mom, the fact that you tried, and you've succeeded… well that pretty much fixes it. It's what I wanted for you the whole time. I just didn't know rehab was the right way to go about it. I thought I could handle it but the problem was beyond me."

"I'm a terrible mother," she said, apparently not having heard a word of what I said. "I'll make it up to you from now on. Another six months and I'm out of here, Eve. I am. And then I'm there for you."

"I met Gary," I said suddenly. Something just came over me. She looked up at me and stared.

"Your father."

"Yes, that's the one."

"How…how is he doing?" she asked. "And…"

"Well, I didn't seek him out. A friend did. He came by and told me how sorry he was for leaving and that he wanted to make it up to me. I told him to fuck off."

My mother looks taken aback. "But Evelyn, you should give him a chance."

"Why?" I asked, getting angry. I thought she would take my side, having been abandoned as well.

"Because it was my fault. I refused him any contact with you. I was selfish. I was scared he'd take you from me. He tried until the day I left for the rehabilitation center."

Well this was new information.

/

**Rose's POV**

I wondered what Eve was doing with that woman. It made me completely ignore poor Marc, who had to keep repeating himself. She looked a bit like her, the woman. I thought it might be her mother, but I completely dismissed it. How could it be? Her mother was in rehab in America.

"Rose!" I looked up and saw James and Renee, their arms linked. I narrowed my eyes. "Hey, I never got to thank you for the incredible—"

"Fuck off, both of you," I snapped. James looked taken aback.

"Rose what's your problem?" he asked angrily.

"My problem is her," I said bluntly. I can tell that Marc is way uncomfortable. "And the fact that you're the biggest imbecile I know."

"Come on James," Renee says coolly, dragging a very angry looking James away from us. Whatever. It was for their own goddamn good. Stupid.

"Rose, what…"

"Don't worry about it Marc. I'm freezing. Let's get to the Three Broomsticks."

/

I saw Scorpius and that girl, Helen, sitting together and I felt regretful that I wasn't sitting with Scorpius. I was in dire need of a laugh, and Scorpius knew just how to deliver. But unluckily I was stuck with sweet Marc who had the humor of a wild boar.

The rest of the day was uneventful and we left a bit early due to the fact that we were freezing, running out of money, and I'm pretty sure neither of us were having a particularly good time. I especially thought this because of Marc completely leaving me at the foot of the girl's dormitories and turning his back without a word.

Oh well, I wasn't too bothered by it. You win some, you lose some.

/

**Eve's POV**

The next month went by without speaking much. In fact, I didn't think I uttered an entire word for two days straight. I managed to get by people. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to anyone—although it usually it was—I was just inside my own head. I seemed to have one parent back and restored. And it was up to me to salvage my other parent, who it seemed, didn't really do anything all that wrong. I maintained that he could have tried harder, but it wasn't unforgivable, I supposed. But was it worth opening up to yet another person?

Seeing James and Renee around angered me. They were both assholes, and seeing them made me want to vomit. Literally. I was coming down with a tummy bug or something, but it wasn't a big deal. Every time it happened, I just lay down for a while and it passed. Although, I had a complete aversion to eggs. Oh well, I wasn't very bothered about them in any case.

Rose always tried to chat and I had given in to her a few times. She had apparently seen my mother with me but didn't know who it was. I wasn't about to talk about all that so I pretended the woman was some long lost relative of mine. Rose didn't seem to buy it but she dropped it, for which I was glad for.

She also invited me for Easter, even though it was two months away. I shrugged and said yes. Not like I had much penciled in and I still liked the Weasleys. All except for James anyway.

My mother and I had been conversing regularly, sending letters back and forth. She seemed to have really changed, with no seeming chance of a relapse. She sounded happy, which was an immense relief for me. I gradually stopped worrying about her continuously in my head and was able to focus on other things. I had decided to become a Healer. I thought about the surprise Scorpius expressed on the Astronomy tower that night when I casted hypothermia spells and general health spells and realized that it was what I was good at, and it was what I wanted to do.

I had been going to Madam Pomfrey and she had become a really close mentor to me. I even started calling her Poppy and she calls me Eve now. First name basis was a nice thing. She showed me lots of techniques, tricks, and she sort of dubbed me a bit of a protégé, which was a great feeling. Even Professor Longbottom helped out by showing me the various plants that were used for various medicinal potions and things. It was keeping my mind off of stupid things like Potter and White, or my father and mother. The latter wasn't stupid, I just kept pushing it away.

"Poppy," I said, after the fifth week of me vomiting.

"Yes dear?"

"I think I have a stomach bug. I've been puking everything up for a month now," I explained. She looked up curiously at me and walked over. She pointed her wand at my stomach, closed her eyes, and began murmuring things.

Her eyes flew open.

"Eve, are you aware that you're pregnant?"

/

**AN: Okay I think I got the spacing thing down okay. Tell me what you think. Love the reviews, you are fabulous! :) I'm on a roll with the writing! I do especially well before exam week, because I've got to have a good distraction, am I right?  
>EDIT: I added some more to this chapter like twenty minutes after publishing. Hope you didn't miss it. Obviously, it's crucial! (I'll put it in the beginning of the next one too, just in case. <strong>


	21. Ready or Not

"_Poppy," I said, after the fifth week of me vomiting. _

"_Yes dear?"_

"_I think I have a stomach bug. I've been puking everything up for a month now," I explained. She looked up curiously at me and walked over. She pointed her wand at my stomach, closed her eyes, and began murmuring things. _

_Her eyes flew open._

"_Eve, are you aware that you're pregnant?"_

This conversation seemed to have been on repeat for the next week. I droned around, completely at a loss of what to do or what to say. Poppy had given me prenatal potions but I couldn't even look at them. Taking them would make this stupid situation I had gotten into was altogether too real. It especially didn't help that the father of this godforsaken baby was none other than the prat traipsing around with the bitch who tried to get me expelled.

I considered telling Rose, but I snorted. She was his cousin. She'd be nagging me the whole time to tell him. I considered Al, Scorpius, and even Professor Longbottom, and in every way I realized their stupid god-awful ties with the Potters and wanted to kill myself. Then it came to me on a Saturday night, whilst going up to my dormitory, ignoring a very drunk James and Al setting off fireworks. This would be the father of my baby, I thought, staring at James. And the baby's uncle?

Having this baby would be purposefully bringing it into the world of humiliation and stupidity. I would be abusive just by having the baby. Which brought me to another point—how the hell in god's name could _I _ever be a mother? Has the stupid baby-giver stork thing met me? Do I seem like I could get something like mothering down?

Whoever resides up there in the sky is playing an awful trick on me.

And why didn't that moron wear a condom?

Anyway, like I was saying. It came to me as I walked up to my dormitory. Laney, Liz, Reed, and Dona were all sitting around, painting their nails. Renee was downstairs with James of course, so this could be my chance.

"Guys?" I asked the room. Everyone looked up in curiosity. I hadn't really spoken to them much for the last month. But there were no hostile faces. "I'm pregnant."

/

**James' POV**

I watched her climb the dormitory stairs. There was something very wrong with her—it was written all over her face. Renee was nudging me out of my thoughts and pleading with me to show her how to light the firework to make it do the swirly thing. Honestly, sometimes I wanted to kill that girl.

"Oh shut up, will you?" Al looked with surprise at me. "Al will show you."

I stood up and went up to my own dormitory, irritated.

/

**Eve's POV**

"NO way," Reed says getting up. "Is it James?"

"Well yes, if you heard the entire conversation."

"Of course," Laney says, patting the seat next to. I sit down on the bed.

"I have no clue what to do."

"Well, did you see Madam Pomfrey?" Dona asks.

"Well yes, she's the one who told me. She gave me prenatal vitamins and a bunch of pamphlets on parenthood, adoption, and abortion." They all looked shocked when I said the word abortion, which made me irritated.

"What are you going to do?" Liz whispered, looking worried.

"I think I might go for the third option," I say, to the general gasps of the entire room. "I'd be a terrible mother."

"Rubbish!" Reed says loudly, "You'd be an excellent mother. And girls, shut the fuck up. If she wants to abort, that's her business. But dear," Reed says, turning to me and grabbing my shoulder. "I think you should think about this a lot. And you need to tell James."

"Why? He's obviously much happier without knowing."

"It's his kid too," Dona said quietly. "And I'm sure he'd want to know. Wouldn't you want to know?"

I thought about that. Of course I'd want to know. It would be my kid.

"But what if he wants to keep the kid?" I ask, worried.

"Well that's why you need to talk to him. You need more than just one side. You need someone else to either agree or disagree so the best option comes through. This is a baby we're talking about," Laney said. "And it's not like it's not been done before."

She was making a lot more sense that I would have liked. Damn, I expected to walk in here and have them all tell me to abort the baby; it's not worth the trouble. But apparently, they were tough cookies. I'm still glad I didn't go to Rose though. Merlin knows she'd never stop her endless stream of _oh my god, you have to keep the baby_.

I felt like crying. This so wasn't real.

"If I have this baby," I begin, "there go my healer dreams. There go pretty much everything."

"But you'll have a baby," Dona pointed out.

"Yes I would. But I don't know if that's a pro, Dona."

"No, you need to stop pro-conning and go tell James. Right now," Reed said forcefully. Everyone let out a word of agreement.

I groaned and stood up. "I have to?"

"When'd you find out?" Laney asked.

"Last week," I mumbled, shamefacedly.

"YES!" everyone cried out at once. It was kind of weird actually.

"Fine," I sighed, and began walking down to the common rooms.

/

**James POV**

I was pacing around, watching Eve on the map, as per usual. Well, I didn't do it when Al, Fred, and Riley were around because they kept telling me to grow a pair which was making it extremely difficult to maintain my sense of masculinity around them. Eve was walking down to the common room. I didn't dare go down there because stupid Renee was down there, as were Al and Fred. Didn't want to risk a confrontation of sorts. But then I stared as she began walking up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. I always found it massively unfair that we couldn't go up to the girl's. It would have made snog sessions bloody easier.

She was coming right to the sixth year boy's dorm. What the hell? And then the door flew open and she was standing there, looking completely wrecked. I threw the map on my bed, hoping she hadn't assumed that I was stalking her.

"Come to apologize?" I sneered. Probably not my best. She seemed to not have noticed and made herself at home on Riley's bed.

"Potter, I need to talk to you about something."

"Make it quick then," I snapped, trying to sound surly.

**Eve's POV**

His attitude was making this harder than it should be. I was ready to punch him in the face, but instead I kept calm. Or as calm as I possibly could.

"When we had sex," I began—

"Oh so you _are _apologizing," he said, in the most irritating manner possible.

"When we had sex," I repeated, ignoring his stupidity. Seriously, was I really going to raise a baby with _this_ guy as the father? Abortion was looking to probably be the best option here. "Did you use a condom?"

He looked completely thrown by this question. And then his eyes widened and he was looking at me in a very scared way.

**James's POV**

Oh Fuck. Oh Fuck. Did she think she was pregnant? Oh fuck. What the fuck.

"I… I thought you had birth control," I said weakly. That was a complete lie. I was drunk off my ass and didn't even think about the mechanics.

"I'm a virgin, James. Well I was," she said mechanically. She didn't look scared. Why didn't she look scared?

"Fuck, no I didn't use a condom. I was drunk. As were you!" I said.

"I'm not fucking blaming you!" she finally snapped, standing up. "I am pregnant. I thought I should let you know. And I'm planning to abort so stop worrying your oversized head about it."

Suddenly, her saying it made it… real.

"You're what?" I said, catching her arm.

"Pregnant," she snapped again, "with your kid."

"Don't abort," I said quietly. Her defenses dropped at that and she turned to look at me with obvious surprise.

/

**Eve's POV**

Was I hearing this right? James Potter didn't want to abort? I didn't even know what to say. I mean sure, I figured there was a possibility, but I didn't really _think_ about what would happen if he disagreed.

"You want to have this baby?" I ask him. He looks uncomfortable.

"Well, I don't know about all that. But at least adoption?"

Bet he wouldn't be saying that if he had to carry the baby around in his uterus.

"Uh, I don't really think it would be the best of ideas…" I started, unsure of how to go on. And then Renee burst into the room, and upon seeing the two of us, James's hand on my arm, fury flitted across her face.

"Get away from him, you harlot!" she yelled, pulling out her wand, her blonde hair flying. She went to fire a spell at me, but James jumped in front of me, pulling out his own wand.

"Get the _fuck_ out of my room," he spat at her. "And _never_ threaten Eve again, you complete _bitch_." The look on her face was priceless as she lowered her wand and backed out.

"Fuck the pair of you!" she screeched, pathetically in my opinion, and stormed out. He was panting with what looked like immense anger and it was touching. And suddenly, it was like all charges were dropped. It wasn't like I had the cleanest of track records. I was harsh, mean, and sometimes heartless. James and Renee… well Renee was his way of getting back at me. He needed to do that, I guess. I did use him. But there was a more pressing matter to address and I decided to address it.

"I think we need to abort, James. We're not ready for this baby," I said quietly. His face fell, but he just nodded and took my hand.

"Well I'm here for you whatever you decide. I get that it's not my body and it's your decision. We'll go Pomfrey tomorrow. It's Saturday anyway. Best time." I nodded and made my way to the dormitory.

"Eve, wait," James said suddenly. I turned to look at him. "I'm… I'm sorry for everything."

"Me too, James."

/

**Rose's POV**

Scorpius and I were paroling on Friday night. He was humming to himself, while I didn't see anything that was so bloody amusing. "Will you stop it?" I snapped. He looked over at me in surprise.

"What's up Rose?"

"Nothing. There's just not that much to be so bloody happy about."

He gave me a look, which I ignored. Stupid prat. "Why are you so mad at me?"

"No reason."

"Hey, what are you two doing out after hours?" Oh great, it was Molly the Head girl and my stupid seventh year cousin. She was Uncle Percy's lot and really, their whole branch of the family were all boring and pompous.

"I'm a prefect. We both are, Molly," I snapped at her. She frowned.

"Oh that's right. I'd forgotten with all the new ones," she said, waving us away.

"I'm your _cousin_," I sneered. "There was a prefect party for me and you came!"

"Whatever. Stop slacking off and do your jobs! Or I'll take it up with the Headmistress that I don't feel you're a correct fit for the prefect job."

I could strangle her. I really could. Scorpius seemed to sense this and pulled closer to me, probably ready to restrain me. I was going to strangle him too. I didn't even know why I was so irritated. It had started when I had come downstairs to see Scorpius and Helen kissing while waiting for me to arrive for our rounds. It bothered me because Scorpius was supposed to be ready to work—not snogging Helen.

"Seriously, _what _has got you all in a knot?" Scorpius repeated.

"Nothing!" I snapped, before stomping away. In retrospect, it was childish. But at the time, it was perfectly warranted.

**Scorpius's POV**

I watched her go and I could barely suppress a grin. My plan was working! Even though she had no idea why she was so angry, I had a good idea. This jealousy thing was genius. I should have written a book.

I hurried back to find Helen. She was lounging in the Slytherin common room, reading some textbook. "Hey!" I said, coming up to her. She looked up at me with a smug look on her face.

"So did it work Malfoy?"

"It did. You are a _genius_. Thank you for helping me."

"I felt sorry for your ass, Scorpius. You were pining after her for far too long."

_We were sitting in the Three Broomsticks and I was watching Rose come in with that son of a bitch, Marc. I mean, who the hell's name was Marc anyway? Why not spell it with a K? Show off. _

"_Hey, are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" I heard Helen snap. I looked back over to her. She looked annoyed. I felt sheepish. _

"_Sorry, I got—distracted."_

"_By Rose Weasley?" she asked flatly. _

"_No!" I said, putting my hands up in defense. "No, I was just—"_

"_Save it Scorpius," she said, grinning slightly. "You're not my type anyway. I prefer Slytherins who are _not_ in love with Gryffindors. But it looks like—" she continued before I could say anything, "our dear Weasley doesn't know how you feel. How about we play a game?"_

"_What are you going on about?"_

"_We're Slytherins, Malfoy. Well at least, most of us are," she said, looking at me with disgust. "Point is, we manipulate. It's what we do. Let's say you and me have some fun with Rose. Let's get her true feelings for you to manifest itself."_

"_What are you on about?" I asked, slightly intrigued._

"_I'm proposing that we make her jealous without her even realizing she's jealous. She'll eventually get fed up and the truth will all come out."_

"_And if it doesn't?"_

"_Well that's one less pureblood family ruined," Helen said with a smirk, ignoring my glare._

And so it began. Helen offered to be my "girlfriend" and spark something out of Rose, if there was anything to be sparked at all. At first, I was reluctant, but the moment I saw her irritated look after I kissed Helen in front of her, I knew it was working. How nice it was to be a Slytherin! Sometimes that whole manipulation thing came in handy.

/

**Eve's POV**

I woke up the next morning with dread. Well nausea too, but that was beside the point. I went down to find James already waiting in the common room, occupying my usual window-side spot. Strange for Potter to be up so early on a Saturday, but then I remembered the circumstances and decided it was best not to say anything. Especially because James was apparently not a huge fan of my decision to abort. He didn't pressure me not to or anything, but he himself told me not to when I said it first. I felt bad, but… I couldn't be a mother, and I didn't think James could really be a father either.

The idea was romantic, but actually going through with it was something else entirely.

"Hi," he said, looking up at me. I nodded. "Ready?"

"Yeah," I said quietly. That was a lie. How do you get ready to kill a potential baby? It helped that it wasn't technically living yet, but this was still probably the hardest decision I ever had to face. And it wasn't even really much of a decision. I knew what I had to do, but actually doing it would be difficult.

We walked in silence toward Madam Pomfrey. I could tell James wanted to say something, but he kept losing his nerve. I had half a mind to tell him to spit it out because it was making me so nervous, but I decided that he was probably anxious himself. He rapped on her door and it opened, revealing the hospital wing.

"Come in dears!" she sang out. When she saw me her brow furrowed. "Alright Eve? Taking those prenatal vitamins?"

"Actually, I came to get an abortion, Poppy," I said quietly. James looked surprised at me calling her by first name. I could tell Madam Pomfrey didn't think what I said was a good idea, but like James, she said nothing to discourage me.

"Well, I am not authorized to do this. It must be done in Mungo's. And since you are not seventeen years of age yet, Eve, I'm afraid I cannot let you do anything without guardian consent."

"I don't technically have a guardian," I said, feeling panicked. I felt James take my hand and was grateful. Madam Pomfrey frowned and looked at the two of us.

"Potter, I'm assuming you're the father?" she asked. James nodded. "Technically, Professor Neville Longbottom has assumed responsibility in case of medical emergency according to your files, Eve. I shall get him in if you'd like."

"Her birthday is February 6th. Can't we just go on with it? Make an exception?" James asked.

"I'm afraid not, Potter."

"Then yes, call him in," I said quietly, sinking down on one of the hospital wing beds. James looked panicked now.

"Eve," he said, as soon as Madam Pomfrey bustled out the room. "He's going to tell my mum."

"No, he's not," I said, tiredly. "Professor Longbottom will probably just _encourage_ you to tell her. But he won't tell her. He's not interfering like the rest of you."

"Mmm," James said, still looking worried.

"Eve? James?" Neville asked, hurrying in.

**James's POV**

I paled as soon as I saw him. He was definitely going to tell my mother. He and my mother were always talking. And always talking about me at that. Something that annoyed me to no end. Don't get me wrong, I love Neville, but there's just something about having a teacher be a family friend. It made pranks harder to carry out.

Like the time I charmed the Slytherin banners to sing "death eaters unite!" mum sent me a howler. Ten to one, it was Neville. And now I've gone and gotten a girl pregnant. Mum was going to send me an Avada Kedavra curse by mail. I was dead. I was a dead man walking.

"Neville," Eve said. She was as pale as a ghost herself.

"What's wrong? You two are white as ghosts! Poppy, what's going—?"

"Eve's pregnant," I blurted out. Eve glared at me. Obviously it's not how she was going to say it but luckily there wasn't any time for me to get yelled at. Neville was now pale as a ghost.

"You're—" Neville said, turning to Eve, "are you okay? James, are you the father?"

"Yes," I said.

"So why are you telling me? You should call Ginny and Ha—"

"No, Professor, I… need you to give me abortion consent," Eve said. I couldn't help but flinch at the word. Something about it didn't feel right. I shook it off though. It was her choice. I knew that. Anyway, Neville looked like someone slapped him.

"What, why me? I… I should call… I'll call the Potters…" he said, backing out of the room. I rushed forward to stop him.

"Look Neville, please don't call them. I'll tell them on my own time, they'd hate if they heard from someone else," I explained. Neville's eyes were still wide and he couldn't take them off of Eve.

"But why must I give… what authority… Poppy, what's going on?"

Madam Pomfrey decided that _this_ was the best time to jump in. Why she couldn't have jumped in earlier is something I can never figure out. The woman was mental.

"Neville," she said gently, placing a hand on his arm. "You've listed yourself as emergency contact for Eve. She's a minor and needs consent to go through with this."

"Eve," Neville said, looking like he was going to have a heart attack. "What… you want me to sign?"

"Yes, professor. James and I… we're not ready for a kid," she said calmly.

"You've thought this through? Like really thought about it? Because I'm not about to sign without knowing that you've slept on it."

"I've slept on it for more than a week and a half. If I do anymore "sleeping on it" it will be too late," Eve said logically. She knew for so long and didn't tell me? "I'm not fit to be a mother. It was an accident and it will disrupt all my plans. And probably James's too."

"Okay, where's the form?" Neville asked, still pale.

/

**Eve's POV**

The walls were too white in here. I was sitting in a very small room, with Healers crossing every now and then, making me nervous. It was much, much better than before though. Before, I was in a room where every goddamn person was pregnant and happy or trying to get pregnant. Their smiles were enormous, and I felt like someone needed to slap them.

It would be bad to mention how put together James was acting—much unlike me. He was so calm and it was good, albeit slightly annoying, to have around. It made me feel calmer, like this was no big deal, an everyday thing. A Healer took me from that god-awful room and brought me to this small white walled one. James sat against a wall on the other side of the room from me, looking composed. There was one poster on the wall and I wanted to tear it to pieces. There was a happy smiling baby on it, making gurgling noises and waving its chubby hand. I looked away, feeling nauseous.

"Ready?" a Healer asked, coming in. I nodded and climbed onto the bed.

**A/N: I'm feeling the love :) Also, please don't hate me. **

_(and leave your feelings about abortion out of the story, please3. I know it's a sensitive topic, but everyone has their point of view, respect it!)_


	22. The Truth Comes Out

**& The Truth Comes Out**

**Rose's POV**

"Hello Malfoy," I said tersely, when he approached me in the morning. "Where's Helen?"

"Waiting for me at the Slytherin table. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after that little tantrum you had yesterday." I drew my wand and pointed it right at him.

"You are such a minger."

"You going to hex me? Really? I didn't do anything!"

"You said I threw a tantrum like I'm five. I was just upset okay?"

"Okay," Scorpius said, hands up.

"Have you seen Eve or James anywhere? They disappeared and Al told me Renee and James broke up last night."

"No I haven't."

/

**Eve's POV**

"Wait!" I said suddenly. The Healer standing over me stopped and looked at me.

"Yes?"

"I… why the hell do you have a picture of a smiling baby in a fucking _abortion clinic_?" I asked. The Healer looked surprised. James looked up in interest. He had been holding my hand and not looking anywhere but at his feet.

"Well, the actual abortion ward is under renovation and this is the ultrasound scan room. I can move it if you want."

"No," I said with gritted teeth, irritated. "Go on."

"One—two—thr-"

"Wait!" I said again. The Healer drew her wand back suddenly and looked frustrated.

"What is it Miss Martin?"

"Will this hurt?"

"Not really. Your uterus will be a bit sore and you might feel mild cramping for a week."

"Okay," I breathed out. James squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile in comfort.

"Okay, ready?" the Healer asked and looked at me for a long hard while even after I nodded. She didn't believe me. I didn't blame her. She drew her long wand and pointed at my stomach. I noticed her fingernails. They were long and pretty and tinged pink. And then I remembered a Muggle movie I watched. About teenage pregnancy. Juno or something. They showed it at school as part of a sexual awareness project. Apparently it didn't work on me. I remember Juno learning about how babies had fingernails even in the uterus. My baby had fingernails. _My baby_. Little fingernails. Like white calcium deposits. Sort of like hair. Weren't hair and fingernails the same? I wondered if my baby would have red hair or black hair or maybe something in between. The Healer's mouth was opening.

"STOP!" I screamed. The Healer jumped back, looking scared, and a few more Healers burst into the room, one with a crash cart. If I wasn't squeezing James's hand so much, he would have probably fallen over in shock. The Healer looked around frantically before realizing it was another one of my breakdowns. "I don't want to do this," I choked out. "Fingernails; my baby has fingernails. And maybe red hair. I hope it has black hair though." James stared at me. And then it looked like it occurred to him. He reached out and took both my hands in his.

"Really?"

"Really," I affirmed. I was truly mental. Gone absolutely crazy. I couldn't even believe I was going to do this. But at that moment, the way James was smiling even though we were two barely legal kids with a life left to live made me realize that this was the right decision. Or maybe I chickened out.

And then James paled and dropped my hands. "I have to tell my mum," he whispered, looking horrified. "Oh God I need Al and Rose. Come on, let's get back to school."

/

He took my hand and we both ran up to the Gryffindor tower. He threw pretty much all the belongings of his trunk throughout the room before finding the map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said hastily. "Rose… Rose… Al…"

"There!" I said, pointing at two little dots. One was Al and one Rose, and amazingly they were walking together out to the grounds. James threw the map down after muttering a quick _mischief managed_, grabbed my hand and we ran down the stairs and out towards the grounds. I was totally out of breath by the time we reached Al and Rose, who looked really happy.

"Finally!" Rose and Al said at the same time. I quickly pulled my hand out of James's. I didn't want them to get the wrong idea.

"Rose, Al, I need help," James said, not out of breath at all, the fit bastard. "The tree: let's go sit there."

**Rose's POV**

There was something up with James. He looked scared out of his mind.

"Is this about next Saturday's Quidditch game, because _mate_, we're playing Hufflepuff…" Al said, grinning. We had settled ourselves down on the grass next to the giant tree that overlooked the lake. Eve looked especially pale.

"No, no we got that in the bag. And since Slytherin beat Ravenclaw, when we beat Hufflepuff—they have to beat Hufflepuff and then we beat Ravenclaw and we got ourselves a regular Slytherin vs. Gryffindor game!" James said excitedly. Eve elbowed him.

"Don't get off topic," she warned. What the hell was going on?

"Right, well Eve's pregnant."

I stared at him. He was going to laugh now and say just kidding. But… why did he look so serious? I turned to Al, who was actually grinning. "You're funny, James! You almost had me going."

"I'm serious." I stared at him, and for the first time in his life, he was actually serious. James, a _father?_

"Are you keeping it?" I asked, because Al seemed to have temporary lost all his mental capabilities.

"Yes we were going to abort but Eve decided she'd rather keep—"

"James, I was thinking more along the lines of adoption…" Eve said, looking uncomfortable. James looked at her in surprise.

"But I thought…" James said quietly.

"Mum's going to kill you," Al said eyes wide. "No… like I'm afraid for your life James."

"Should I wait till spring break?" James asked.

"Definitely," Rose said. "You want witnesses when you decide to tell Aunt Ginny. She might kill you."

"Yeah I thought so too…" James said sighing deeply. Eve looked like she was ready to faint.

"Don't worry Eve, once you have the Potters on your side, everything will be taken care of," I said, trying to comfort her. "Even if they've killed James already."

"Right," she said, gulping.

"You should probably warn Mum though. Rather not pop it on her at once. She might combust," Al said.

"Did you see Pomfrey?"

**Eve's POV**

"Yes, we did already. She gave Eve same prenatal vitamins," he said. And at that moment I realized the only people who would know that I went for the abortion that morning would be Professor Longbottom and James. And I'd rather keep it that way. My hand unconsciously went to my stomach. I was growing something in there. I thought of the entire school knowing by the time I started showing. Then I realized that I didn't care. To hell with all of them.

And what Al and Rose were saying about Ginny, I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I didn't think waiting till Easter break was such a good idea anyway, seeing as how it was in late April, meaning I'd be already four months along. But I didn't say anything. James would tell his parents as he would. I hope they wouldn't pressure me into keeping the baby though. Having it is quite the challenge—keeping it would be unthinkable.

/

"Why adoption, Eve?" James asked, once we were alone again. Rose and Al both left, saying they were tired and needed a nap. I think they realized we needed some time alone.

"James," I said, feeling this coming. "I want to be a Healer. That requires me to finish my seventh year and then do some extensive work. And you want to play Quidditch! That requires you to travel and you'll be busy too. We can't afford this right now. I didn't get the abortion, but… after thinking about it, I still don't think it would be fair to either us _or_ the baby to try and raise you know… and the baby is due just before school starts and so we can both finish on time and do something with our lives."

"I understand," James said.

I frowned. He was looking at the ground, and I could tell he didn't really understand. But it was the best decision. We both had lives to live. A baby was incredibly stupid—this I still maintained. But I couldn't bring myself to abort. Not that it was wrong or right—who really knows right? _I _just personally couldn't.

"Will you stay with me while I write the letter?" James asked. I nodded and he pulled a piece of parchment out of his bag and brought it towards him.

_Mum_,

_How are you and dad? We're looking forward to coming over spring break._

_Speaking of spring break, I have something kind of important to tell you, but I figure I'll have to wait till spring break, seeing as it's kind of face-to-face thing. Anyway, don't freak out. Just sending you a heads-up._

_Al and Lily send their love,_

_James_

"How's that?" he asked, lifting his quill.

"Perfect," I said smiling. He grinned, rolled the letter up, and put an arm around me. "James," I said, figuring I'd have to straighten something out. "Just because we're having a baby together… doesn't mean…"

"I know," James said, gave my shoulders a squeeze and then pulled away.

/

By Wednesday, I thought that I would finally have a normal week. Nothing so far had happened. I let Madam Pomfrey and Professor Longbottom know of my decision and the old nurse gave me some pamphlets and Professor Longbottom just patted me awkwardly on the shoulders and asked if James had told Ginny yet. I had made good marks in all my classes on every essay and demonstration I had. It was looking to be a semi-decent week. I even took all my vitamins on time. My birthday was on the coming Friday, and I was semi-hoping for it to be drama free.

But I spoke too soon, I guess. That Thursday, I was called into the office, to find a very pale James and Harry and Ginny Potter.

**James's POV** (a little while back)

"James, the headmistress would like to see you." I looked up and saw a very mousy first year speaking to me. I nodded, stood up and stretched, wondering what on Earth had happened now. I took my time getting there though, figuring that McGonagall had probably just found out about me prompting Peeves to throw statue busts at Argus Filch's head. I hated the man.

I climbed the spiral staircase and rapped on her door, which opened. My parents were standing in front of me, with Headmistress McGonagall nowhere to be seen. Damn that Neville. "Hello Mum," I tried to say as cheerily as possible.

"James, sit," dad said. I sat down, feeling intimidated. My dad could be just as bad as my mum if he was crossed.

"What was that letter about?" Mum asked. "Have you gotten into some kind of trouble? McGonagall wouldn't say."

"Um… well, you kind of should calm down," I said. Damn, I was supposed to have witnesses. Not be locked up in the Headmistress's tower.

"Do not tell us to _calm down_," my mother hissed. "You send us such a weird letter, obviously you're in some kind of trouble."

"I need Eve here before I say anything," I said, thinking fast. Dad raised his eyebrows. Mum looked confused.

"Okay…"

/

She opened the door and saw the three of us, and her hand went straight to her stomach. "Eve, honey, take a seat," mum said kindly. She was only that nice to people who weren't her kids. "We were just trying to figure out what's wrong with James after he wrote us a certain letter, and he told us that you need to be here. Are you in trouble as well?"

"In a way," she said quietly, and took the seat that dad had just conjured.

"Right, well… here goes… there's kind of no easy way to get this out," I began. "It's actually kind of funny how it all happened—"

"I'm pregnant," Eve blurted out. I glared at her. She was going to decide to be blunt _now_?

The tension in the room was ridiculous. "You're... okay… I mean honey we can deal with that," Mum said, coming toward Eve and looking worried. "Sweetheart, how far along are you?"

But dad was staring at me, and then it clicked. "Are you the father James?" he asked. Mum looked sharply at me and then it seemed to dawn on her too. She drew away from Eve like she was poisoned.

"Pregnant?" she mouthed. Her ears were getting red. Dad's wand sparked a little. I wanted to run away as fast as I could. I glanced over at Eve who was just as scared looking.

"James Sirius Potter," she started. "Of all the _stupid_ things you've done in your lifetime THIS COULD TAKE THE CAKE! YOU IRRESPONSIBLE—" and she continued to yell a strew of insults, but I was preoccupied watching dad, who looked like someone slapped him. He turned, threw floo-powder into the fireplace and left immediately. Mum stopped talking and turned to look at the spot where dad was and looked confused.

"He didn't just—" she began.

"Yeah he left," I said.

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!" she yelled, completely irrationally.

"I—"

"LOOK HOW UPSET YOU'VE MADE YOUR FATHER! YOU KNOW WHAT WE WERE ALL DOING AT YOUR AGE? FIGHTING—"

"Voldemort," I continued, which was probably a bad idea.

"YES, WE WERE YOUNG MAN! WHAT DID I DO WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Mum, there's not really a Voldemort to fight…" I said, also a bad idea.

"Not really a Voldemort to fight?" she whispered dangerously. "THEN WHY DON'T YOU BE PRODUCTIVE IN OTHER WAYS YOU COMPLETE IMBECILE OF A SON! NOT HAVING SEX AND PARTYING AND EVERY OTHER STUPID THING YOU'VE MANAGED TO DO! YOU DIDN'T EVEN GET ANY O.W.L.s! YOUR UNCLES FRED AND GEORGE BOTH MADE MORE THAN YOU DID! AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN PLANNING ON DOING WITH YOUR LIFE NOW WITH A BABY IN TOW? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PROVIDE? THOUGHT SINCE WE'RE YOUR PARENTS WE'LL HELP YOU OUT? NO ONE HELPED _US_ OUT! BUT WE WERE OLD ENOUGH, MARRIED, AND MATURE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH IT! BUT APPRENTLY WE WENT WRONG SOMEWHERE!" I flinched when she drew her wand, but it was only to wave it around while she yelled some more. And then Eve uncharacteristically burst into tears.

"I'm sorry!" she choked out. "It's my fault too and I'm so, so sorry Ginny!" she practically wailed. Mum immediately looked sorry and went back over to Eve.

"Eve, honey, you both made a mistake. Don't cry, here, everything will be okay. Have you decided on anything?" she asked.

"Adoption," I whispered quietly. She nodded and pulled me into a hug. "I have to go and take care of your father but _we will talk about this on spring break,"_ she hissed the last part at me. Mum was so unfair. It took two to tango, you know. "James Potter, you better put a toe out of line until then, am I being clear?"

"Crystal," I said, sighing. She turned and went to the fireplace, floo-ing away.

**A/N: Okay, the reviews for the last chapter were overwhelming! You guys are just my inspiration! I'm sorry for those of you who thought she would rather have the abortion, but I couldn't bring myself to do it :) And thanks to all of you with the open minds :) Y'all, Ginny isn't a complete witch, she's just a mom! And Harry... well Harry is being Harry and getting all broody and running away Harry style! Also, a special shout out to qwerty1245, who sent me the most heartfelt review about having to leave the Hunger Games to read this story! I'm touched, seriously. **

**Sorry for such a long author's note! Until next time~**


	23. James Jr

**Eve's POV**

That could've gone better. But I guess it also could've gone worse. At least everything was out in the open now and I could relax and just worry about something other than this pregnancy I've gotten myself into. And my unyielding morning sickness.

James had left as soon as the whole fiasco was over and I couldn't really find him—not that I was looking very hard. I was too busy trying to stomach some lunch and finish a potion essay. I was planning on doing it during my after-breakfast break, but that plan fell through. I saw Scorpius sometime around noon, sitting with this new girl Helen I had been noticing. Apparently, he had moved on. He tried to catch up with me and I let him. I'd always liked Scorpius—sweet kid.

"Hello Mum," he said with a wink. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I can't believe Rose told you!" I said, slightly miffed.

"Eh, I won't tell anyone, Eve." That's true, he wouldn't.

"So who's the new girl?" I asked, pulling my bag over my shoulders. Scorpius tried to take it from me. "I am not fat yet," I snapped. He just grinned and pulled his own bag closer to his shoulders.

"Helen," he said. "Don't tell anyone, but we kind of have an agreement to help get Rose to me."

"Are you using Helen to get Rose to feel jealous?" I asked, completely unimpressed.

"…well sort of," he said, rubbing his neck. I noticed James did that a lot. "But I mean, Helen's in on it."

"Well, Rose will just _love_ that. I know I'd just fall for how romantic you are immediately," I said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up. She doesn't even realize she has feelings for me. She does though, she's getting jealous."

"Or annoyed. Anyway, I've got to get to Potions, I can't be late again," I said. Scorpius waved me goodbye and left.

"Good of you to join us Ms. Martin!" Slughorn's voice boomed as soon as I walked into the classroom.

/

**Rose's POV**

"Rose, can you plan a party?" James asked, running up to me.

"What?"

"Can you plan a party for tomorrow night?"

"You're joking right?" I asked, staring at my crazy cousin.

"Eve's birthday is tomorrow. I only know how to throw alcohol boy parties, but considering Eve can't drink and she's a girl… please?" James begged. I rolled my eyes and agreed.

"Can't believe you gave me such short notice," I grumbled. James kissed me on top of the head before running off. Stupid git. It was in this grumbling state that Scorpius found me.

"Rose, what's wrong?"

"I have to plan a party in one night!" I said, momentarily forgetting my annoyance with him.

"What?"

"Yeah for Eve's birthday," I said hurriedly.

"Is this a surprise party? Because we all know how well those go…" he said.

"I—um, didn't really ask. Maybe it's not…" I said, making a mental note to ask James.

"Here I'll send a memo," Scorpius said, pulling out a sheet of yellow paper, scribbling something, and charming it to fly toward James. "And, since I'm done for the day, I offer my services."

"Isn't Helen going to be mad?" I asked, trying to keep the mocking down to a minimum. He just smirked annoyingly.

"She's not the jealous type," he said.

"Whatever, fine. I need help," I said grudgingly. He smiled and put an arm around me.

"In that case, we will need some drinks to keep us going, no?" And he pulled out two bottles of firewhiskey.

"Damn you Scorpius. You know just how my mind works."

/

**Scorpius's POV**

"Okay, okay, I'm guessing we shouldn't put pictures of babies anywhere?" Rose said, laughing. I shook my head, and being the sober one, this party organizing had turned more into a babysitting adventure. The party planning was done—and Potter had confirmed it to be a surprise party. Now, Rose and I were the only ones left in the Gryffindor common room, with her having drunk both bottles of firewhiskey and talking complete nonsense. I probably should have brought her up to bed, or got a friend to do it or something, considering it was a Thursday night, but she was just too amusing—and much too beautiful for me to say goodbye. It was verging on one o'clock in the morning though, and eventually my sense of gentleman-ship (or so I'd like to have thought) took over and I leaned over and put my arm around her. She was telling some nonsensical story about house elves.

"Malfoy, what do you want?" she said, putting a hand on my hand. I grinned.

"You need to sleep Weasley," I said. "You have class tomorrow, you know how important class is to you."

"_You_ just want to get rid of me," she accused, pouting at me with those fantastic lips.

"Never Rose," I said seriously.

"NO," she demanded. "That's what Helen's doing anyway. You don't want to be with me any longer."

"Rose, I'll always be your best friend," I said quietly. "Let's just get you to bed."

"Do you even love her? Helen Shmelon?" she asked, resisting my arm.

"I—no," I said honestly.

"Scorpius, do you love _me_?"

I looked at her, a complete wasted mess, and wanted desperately to tell her the truth. And she wouldn't really remember in the morning anyway.

"Yes, Rose. Way too much," I said. She took her arms, wrapped them around me and looked like she was pulling in for a kiss. Her lips were slightly puckered, and it was reminding me how much I wanted to do this. How her lips were on my mind for the past few weeks. And I just wanted to lean down and kiss her.

I almost did it too, before I remembered that she was not sober. This was not sober Rose that wanted to kiss me, and I wanted sober Rose to kiss me. I wanted sober Rose to figure out she has feelings for me. I wanted sober Rose to remember in the morning. So I turned my lips away and she landed an awkward kiss on my cheek. I brought her to a sofa, laid her down, and left the common room as quickly as I could. If I had stayed a second longer, I might have given in.

/

**Eve's POV**

Seventeen. Finally legal. I got up and stretched, going over to the window to look at the hazy dawn. I didn't even know why I was up so early—maybe because it was the first birthday I was allowed to celebrate by myself. I made my way down to breakfast just as the morning post came in. James gestured me over and I sat next to him. He gave me a one armed hug and wished me happy birthday, pressing something into my palm. I looked at him in surprise. "You didn't have to," I said, but he just shushed me away. Two owls landed in front of me, dropping two envelopes. I looked at James curiously, but he just shrugged, so I reached for the envelopes and ripped them open.

_Dear Evelyn_

_Happy birthday darling! You're finally an adult, how exciting! I've started a Gringott's account for you and put some money inside—yes I have a job. It's a small receptionist job really, and it's within the center, so I'm still under careful eyes. _

_I hope you are doing well. Please write more, it does get lonely in this joint. Did you try and speak with your father yet?_

_Love,_

_Your mother_

I put it aside, feeling pride for my mother and didn't even object when James asked if he could read. I saw a smile come on to his face as he was reading and felt that much better. My mom was actually getting better. I picked up the other scroll and opened it, expecting something like a letter from Neville: instead a magically contracted bag of galleons fell out—

_Eve,_

_Happy seventeenth birthday! I'm sorry I didn't get you anything but money, but I figured you'd find it more useful anyhow. I understand that you're still not speaking with me, but I still love you and want you to write back to me. I'll understand if I don't get a letter though. _

_Happy birthday again. Have a wonderful one._

_Love,_

_Your father_

James was reading over my shoulder. I turned to him and he looked ashamed. "What do you think?" I asked. He looked completely thrown by my question.

"I… you want to know what I think?" he asked. I nodded. "I think you should write back to him. He's blood. It means a lot. Thicker than water and all that."

I nodded. "I think so too."

/

**James's POV**

I left Eve to write her letters, feeling good that she was finally warming up to the idea of her dad, and went off to find Rose to make sure the party planning was done. I found her still snoozing in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. I must have not noticed her on my way down. I went over and shook her awake. She looked up and a panic came over her.

"Oh my God, am I late for class?"

"I guess—I'm on break right now. But class doesn't start for another," I checked the watch dad gave me for my birthday—"five minutes." Rose let out a little scream and jumped up.

"How'd the party planning go?" I asked, running behind her. I couldn't run any farther than the girl's dormitory stairwell though, lest I wanted it to turn into a giant slide.

"Fine, fine, make sure Eve comes to the room of requirement at 7:30. Everyone's coming at seven, but I have to go and get ready!" she yelled, before bolting up the stairwell.

/

**Eve's POV**

I told him. I told my father that I was pregnant. And I also referred to him as my dad.

_Dear dad,_

_I forgive you. I didn't know you tried to reach me every year. Mom just told me that. I still think you could've tried harder, but at least you tried. I'm sorry I never gave you a chance to talk to me. _

_I'm pregnant. James Potter is the father. I have not told mom—she has enough to worry about, but I figure that I'll need a parent somewhere along the line. If you could be that for me, I would be grateful._

_Eve_

I sent it off with a school owl, as Hedwig was nowhere to be found. I didn't know what to expect. He probably wouldn't lose his head like Ginny, because frankly—he doesn't have much of a right to. I was putting my money on his awkwardness.

"So, I have a birthday dinner for you. Meet me at seven thirty in the common room," James said, coming up to me in the Great Hall right after lunch.

"No James, I don't—"

"Oh come on, there won't be any alcohol so it's not like you can take advantage of me," he said, with a playful grin. I rolled my eyes and agreed to meet up. He ran off happily.

/

I showered and went down around seven thirty and found James lounging on the sofa. He let out a low whistle when he saw me. I must admit, I looked swell.

"You look beautiful," he said, winking and leading me out of the portrait hole. "So the thing is, I got the house elves to cook us up a delish meal in the Room of Requirement."

"Rose wouldn't like that," I said, thinking about her feverish support for higher wages for House Elves.

"Yeah, well Rose won't be there will she?"

/

"Surprise!"

I stared out into the vast crowd all gathered around and turned to James. "What the hell?"

"It's a surprise party!" he said, but slightly faltered, probably at the look on my face.

"I…" I swallowed and looked around at everyone's faces. There were mostly people I didn't know. The place was beautifully decorated in light pink and there was alcohol—though not for me. But there wasn't just alcohol. There were tables lined with food and sweets—poor house elves—and balloons, and a very hopeful looking Rose standing front and center, with Scorpius right behind her. I looked back at James who looked like he was deflating and I decided to swallow my pride. "Thank you!" I said loudly, forcing a grin and waving regally. Everyone burst out into relieved talk and Rose and Scorpius hurried over to me.

"So do you like the decorations? I know there's alcohol James, don't give me that look, but I couldn't ignore other people's needs! I also have butter beer and lots of pumpkin juice though!"

"I love the decorations. And thank you. You guys feel free to drink though," I said, actually smiling. I liked them—the whole lot. Scorpius took Rose's arm and they went off to the drinks. I turned back to James who had his eyes narrowed toward the two of them.

"I'm going to kill him," he muttered. "Anyway, I'm not going to drink if you're not. Want butterbeers, pumpkin juice, water—"

"Butterbeer is lovely," I said. It was nice of him not to drink. At least I wouldn't be the only one pathetically sober at my own birthday party. I sat down and watched all the people who weren't really here for me dance drunkenly, and sighed.

/

"_Welcome to the second match of the season—Lions vs. Badgers, with the Lions favored to win! Yeah Gryffindor! Oh, sorry, not supposed to take sides—oh well then go Badgers—" _I saw Rose shoot Daniel Jordan, the current announcer (and a seventh year Gryffindor), thumbs up, to which he grinned. Scorpius was sitting with Rose this time and I was sitting with Laney and Dona. This game was considered for formalities, basically, because apparently Hufflepuff had a history of having a terrible team. Jordan read out the names as usual and as usual, when James flew out there was an enormous amount of cheering. I wondered if the baby in my stomach was a born chaser like him. Al flew out right behind him to almost as much screaming. Maybe the baby would take after his seeker uncle. _His uncle. _What is my life? I looked toward Lily, who had stood up from where she was sitting a few rows down from Rose with her nails to her teeth, her eyes wide with fear and realized how pretty she was. That would be this kid's aunt? I hope it had inherited their looks. The whole Potter family was beautiful. My family… well I sure damn hope this kid isn't like my family. My family. I sort of had a mother _and _a father now. That was rich. This kid had grandparents. Or wait, I guess it didn't. I was putting it up for adoption. I needed to stop calling this kid _it_. I began thinking about a gender-neutral name I could call it. Like Jesse or Germaine. Or Stacy. Oh who am I kidding—Stacy is a girl's name and anyone else who named their boy that has got to be kidding themselves or desperately wanted a girl.

"EVE WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I snapped out of my reverie to find everyone around me on their feet, Dona cheering like mad, and Laney looking at me like I was insane. I quickly stood up and saw through all the commotion that Al had caught the snitch. It had been minutes!

I watched Al do some awesome loops, take off his shirt like an idiot, and pull his brother into an Earth-shattering hug. I smiled. James Jr. I'd call it for the time being. JJ to make it gender neutral. No one had to know, right?

**A/N: Your reviews are making my weeks, seriously! Also, spread the love if you want-the more the merrier! On your tumblrs and to all your fanfic friends! I would love it :D & here's a little something to look forward to for all you loyal fans, who've been there from the beginning, sending in all the awesome reviews. ****I had a preview here, not going to lie to you, but I changed my mind. A kind reviewer brought me some honest criticism and I decided to change the angle. Don't worry, there will definitely be some delicious drama in the next chapter!**


	24. Never Cross a Weasley Woman

**Never Cross a Weasley Woman**

**Eve's POV**

Post. I reached for the letter that Hedwig had delivered. It was in my father's handwriting. It had been two weeks since I sent it, and already the end of February. I turned it over in my hands wondering if he had just decided to hell with it when he found out what a disappointing daughter he had. Sighing, I opened it, glad that the Gryffindor table didn't have its usual occupants—there was some major Quidditch practice going on in prep for the upcoming match against Ravenclaw and James had taken it to a whole new level.

_Eve,_

_I can't tell you how wonderful it was to receive your letter. You can imagine then how thrilled I was to find that you had actually come to me for parent like help. I'm so awfully sorry about our past and I know I can never make up fifteen years to you, but I would like to try. And so I will._

_Meet me in Diagon Alley's Patil Confectionaries during spring break if you can. We'll talk, get to know each other a bit, and then we'll get on the topic of this baby and what you're planning on doing with him or her. After some sweets we can head on over to my place and you can stay if you'd like, or go back to what I assume to be the Potter's. You can invite James along if you want. I do like that boy._

_Hope to hear from you soon with details. _

_Love,_

_Your father_

He didn't run away. I stared at the letter and found that I couldn't believe it. I quickly wrote him back and sent it off with an owl that was sitting a few chairs away, nibbling at some toast. It gave me an angry peck, but I didn't care. I watched with happiness as he flew away with my letter.

**Rose's POV**

It was mid-March and the snow had already begun to melt. I was tempted to leave all my work for later and go out with James and Eve, whose sixth year exams were not of all that much consequence. Well for James, none of his exams were for all that much consequence. But I just watched them spread blankets and tighten their mufflers, but enjoy the outside nonetheless, with envy. She was already sort of kind of beginning to show, at somewhere over three months. As much as I was growing to love Eve, I was so happy that I wasn't her. To have a baby just to give it up for adoption—I shuddered at the thought. But it was probably due to the fact that I had been raised to think that family was the single most important thing in this whole world, and if you were blood related, there was always a way to make amends. At least that's what dad always said. Uncle Harry always agreed, saying that just because you're blood doesn't mean your family—like his godfather Sirius and his family.

The hours ticked on and I had gotten nowhere. Daylight had faded away and I no longer could see James and Eve from outside of the library window. I checked my watch and saw with slight alarm that it was one o'clock in the morning and I had finished nothing. Madam Pince was gone, but she had left a few lanterns on to keep me company. I might've been the only student she did that for—probably because I was the only student who stayed up this late in the library. I looked back at my potions notes feeling slightly overwhelmed and pulled out my homework planner for inspiration. _"Ace your exams and be a star!" _it shouted at me. It really was getting less creative.

"Hey there, star of mine," Scorpius said, coming over to me. I made a face of disgust at him. He and Helen had taken to making out in broom cupboards when I had rounds alone. Or actually—just making out publicly. It was gross and I was tired of it.

"Where's your better half?" I said, trying to sound sardonic. But I think that's a Slytherin forte, because I was just terrible at it.

"Eh, sleeping. Quite the bore actually."

"Well you're out of luck if you need entertainment, because I'm studying Malfoy. So go snog someone else."

"What is your problem?" he asked, with annoying merriment in his eyes. "Jealous?"

I snorted. "Why would I be _jealous _of all things?" But for some reason I couldn't look him in the eyes as I said this. But why? Suddenly I looked at him and it clicked. His grey eyes were watching me, his blonde hair was slightly tousled, and he had the most alluring smirk on his lips.

"I…" I said, slightly out of breath. _Think I love you._ But wait, I couldn't say that. He had a girlfriend. That would make me a bitch. A complete, very un-Rose like _bitch_.

"Admit it, Rose," he said. And as I looked at him, I realized the merriment was gone. And behind the merriment were fierce eyes.

"I…" I couldn't admit it! That would make me such a horrible person. And it's not like he even likes me back, the git. And then suddenly, his hands were on my face, his warm, warm hands. His mouth was much too close to mine and I could feel his breath—minty with the hint of cinnamon (I took a moment to wonder from where)—right on my lips. He pulled me up to my fate and all I could do was stare into his eyes.

And then he was kissing me and it was like fresh air. I suddenly knew who kissed me at the Boxing Day ball. And then everything left my mind and I was kissing him back. His lips were warm and his tongue flicked across my bottom lip, making my spine quiver with excitement. He was so good at this and it was all I could do not to let my knees give out. He pulled me into him, and I leaned against him, wrapping my arms around him and clutching at his beautiful blonde hair. A cinnamon-y smell enveloped me, and I deepened my kiss.

"Rose," he murmured against my lips, and it was like someone had stuck an invisible hook in my head and yanked me back to my senses. I stared at him in shock. He looked slightly hurt at my sudden withdrawal.

"Scorpius, this is wrong," I said. "You have a girlfriend. I am the most terrible person in the entire world maybe."

He came forward and took my hands. "Rose, Helen and I aren't really together. I just wanted you to figure out you had feelings for me and—" but he stopped right there, and it was good too, because I might have used an Unforgivable curse on him if he had continued.

"You manipulative son of a bitch," I said angrily, before turning, grabbing all my stuff, and running back to the Gryffindor tower, tears flowing freely from my eyes the moment I had rounded the corner.

**James's POV**

Spring break. Something I had been looking forward to and dreading all at the same time. Dad hadn't spoken to me yet. Mum sent pretty regular letters, and although she sounded mad, she still wrote and asked about Eve. I asked mum once what the hell was dad's problem, and she just replied that he wasn't talking at all. He just went to work and came back. She couldn't get a word out of him for those weeks. I felt bad, but I'd go ahead and talk to him when I got back.

Eve was walking toward me, waving a picture in her hands. "Four month scan," she said, grinning. I reached over and took the picture. My kid was in it. Eve traced her finger around the head and I immediately saw it and pulled it closer. Wow, it was kind of…amazing. I reached down and unconsciously touched her stomach. She grinned and we both walked toward the fireplace to floo to my house. At least that relationship wasn't down the drain. We weren't together or anything, but there was now something stronger between us. There was this kid. Yeah there was adoption too, something glaring and in my opinion—very in the way. But there was still something between us now. And she wasn't being very hormonal or anything, which was cool.

We floo-d straight to my house—mum told me to have Eve at our house for the week. Probably to make sure she was okay. I think mum wanted her to change her mind like me but wasn't willing to say anything.

I brushed off the ash on my shirt and waited for Eve, Al, and Lily to arrive from out of the fireplace. Al and Lily almost immediately left for the kitchen and Eve showed up, looking a bit tired. She was getting along and had a bump and took the slow floo method in order to keep the baby safe. I helped her out of the fireplace and into my house, where she politely dusted off her clothes and looked around. She seemed beyond nervous. I felt that way.

"Kids! I thought you'd be coming a little later," mum said as soon as we entered the kitchen. "Oh well, I have something cooking anyway, but it'll be a few minutes. Harry! The kids are here!"

I looked around and saw dad enter, give Lily a huge kiss on the forehead (I swear she was his favorite), pat Al on the shoulder and completely ignore me. He nodded at Eve, which wasn't very nice of him in my opinion.

"Dad," I said, trying to get his attention.

"James, get out of my house," dad said quietly, turning to me. His eyes were blazing though, revealing his obvious rage with me. "Get out."

I watched him, expecting him to say just kidding. My mother was standing two feet away, staring at her husband. "You can't send him away Harry. He's your son."

"No. I thought by this time he would've shaped up and started making something out of himself. When he got his O.W.L results, I didn't get too mad—I figured he was going to pursue a career in Quidditch anyway. And I didn't come down too hard on him for all the trouble he has been making in school. But he hasn't made any progress. He hasn't been looking for scouts. He hasn't been writing to teams like you did Ginny in your sixth year. Instead, he gets wasted and has sex, trying to throw away everything I've been trying to provide for him; not to mention setting a horrible example for Al and Lily. No, he's no son of mine. So get out."

"What's going on?" Lily asked from the table. Oops, I had forgotten to tell her.

"Your idiot brother got Eve here pregnant—that's what's going on!" Dad said, his glasses going slightly askew.

"What? Al did you know about this?" Lily asked, turning to Al, who turned red and looked down at his plate. "What… who else?" No one said anything. "I WILL HEX ALL OF YOU, SCREW THE UNDERAGE LAW!"

"Rose's family, Scorpius, all the Gryffindor sixth years…" Al said quickly, before we were all bat bogey hexed.

"WHAT?" she screamed loudly. "AM I EVEN A PART OF THIS FAMILY?" she stood up and stormed up the stairs. I'd deal with her later.

"Al, can you go talk to her?" Mum asked quietly, nudging Al. Al stood up, looking happy for the excuse to leave and ran up the stairs.

"James, you can just pack your bags," dad growled at me, before turning for the living room. But then he was hit by an invisible barrier of some sort. I turned to see mum with her wand out, looking dangerous.

"You will not walk away, Harry James Potter. And you sure as HELL will not kick out our son,"she said quietly, but oh so very dangerously.

"No Ginny. It's me or him."

Mum looked angrier than ever at this ultimatum. "James, go to Ronald's. Take Eve."

/

**Ginny's POV**

My husband was acting out of character. I couldn't believe a word I was hearing from him. He was turning away his first born son and a seventeen year old girl who was four months pregnant with his grandchild? I kept a firm grip on the spell I had cast and watched Eve and James leave. Harry was looking at me angrily, but it wasn't like it was the first time.

"Ginny, undo whatever spell you have on me for Merlin's sake!" he shouted at me. I shook my head and kept my wand pointed at him.

"Not unless you tell me what the _hell_ has you acting like this! You haven't spoken to me in weeks. You haven't written James to ask what's going on. Kids make mistakes. He made a mistake. It's irreversible. You are not allowed to kick him out! And you sure as _hell_ are not allowed to present _me_ with ultimatums Potter."

"I—" he faltered.

"Don't you love him?"

"Of course I love him!" he said exasperatedly. "I just can't handle this shit from him anymore! My… my aunt died, Ginny." I looked up at my husband of so many years and immediately dropped my wand on the counter and pulled him towards me.

"Harry," I said softly. "When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I… didn't know if I cared that she died. But I think I do."

"How did it happen?" He chuckled then, but it was more of a dark chuckle than a happy one.

"She ate bad meat. Aunt _Petunia_ died from bad meat. She was so careful with everything—so tidy it was unbearable. And she died from bad meat." I hugged him and he hugged me back. "She was my mother's sister. The closest thing I have to remind me of my mother."

"Harry—your kids are your mother's grandkids. They should remind you of your mother. Lily looks just like her, and James has her red hair. And I think he has some of her famous kindness. Not to mention your father's infamous knack for troublemaking," I said softly, trying to get a point across.

"I know, I know," he said after a few minutes. "I wouldn't have gone through with it. I remember how much Sirius resented the fact that he got kicked out of his household. I'm not like the Blacks. He's my son, I just—I just got mad."

"James is going to be alright, Harry. They're putting up the child for adoption anyway," I said.

"Adoption?" he asked, taking a seat and looking solemn. "But…"

"I know," I said, acknowledging the unspoken words between us. "Now can our son come home?"

"Of course," he sighed, looking bashful. "Thanks Gin."

"You love me," I said casually before standing up to go to the fireplace.

/

**James's POV**

"Lils," I said quietly, sitting down on her bed. Eve had retreated into the guest bedroom after admitting that she wasn't feeling too hot. I had made up with dad who was still angry with me, but at least I could live here. He also was considerably warmer to Eve, who looked relieved. Lily though, well she was fiery mad. She had music in her ears and was doing homework, blatantly ignoring me. "Lils, stop doing homework! You're out of school!" Nothing. I yanked out her earphones and she turned to me, looking murderous.

"Get out of my room, James."

"Lily—"

"No. I can't _believe_ everyone knew except for me. How long anyway?"

"Four months… you didn't notice Eve's stomach?"

"Oh shut up. Don't try to pin this on me. Eve barely _has _a stomach. I attributed it to weight gain and thought it impolite to say anything. However if I had _known_ that that was my NIECE OR NEPHEW residing in her uterus—oh don't look so grossed out—then I would not have been so bloody cavalier!"

"Lily, I'm sorry!" I said. "Look, I just wanted to protect you."

"Thanks a lot big brother. What, you were going to tell me after you freaking had the baby?"

"No! Just as soon as this thing with dad had cleared up."

She watched me, her eyebrows narrowed. I realized then that I probably should've gone to her. Her temperament matched mum's, and I might've gotten an excellent forewarning of what was to come. But it was too late for that. Plus, she was pissed.

"How is it," she started, her usual anger flaring up, "that Scorpius MALFOY knows before your OWN SISTER?"

"That's Rose's doing," I pointed it. "I'm still not sure I like that git."

"James," she said quietly. "Are you scared?"

"She's giving the baby up for adoption Lils."

Lily watched me, her brow furrowed. For a thirteen year old, she was very perceptive. "You don't want that," she said quietly. "Even though it would make your life easier?"

"No I don't want that. I want this baby, and I have a feeling Eve does too. She's just not ready yet. And in the end, it's her decision. Because it's not something you can compromise with. If one person doesn't want a baby, then two people can't raise a baby."

Lily leaned over and gave me a hug. "I love you James," she said. I leaned over and rested my head on her head.

"Love you too Lils."

**A/N: Alright, for those of you who had a chance to see the preview and give me some critique, thank you so much for your honesty! As you can see, I've used it in here, but I hope you don't find it too OOC. After all, Harry's human too. But still Harry. Hope you liked the long due Rose/Scorpius. More soon. I've also started writing the sequel for this, squee! So don't be sad if you can see the end coming, for alas, it is not the end! Love you all:)**


	25. Pater, Pater

**Eve's POV**

I looked at myself in the mirror once before going down to meet James in the main foyer. He was dressed nicely—a conservative button down shirt with a warm jacket and pair of nice jeans. His sneakers were crisp and clean and he looked charming.

"Hey," I said, slightly nervous.

"Don't be nervous," he said. Damnit, he was like a mind-reader. "You look very daughter-ish. And very pretty," he said. I rolled my eyes and took his hand. We walked outside and he turned, apparating straight to Diagon Alley, in front of Flourish and Blotts. I stumbled a bit. We both had passed our apparition tests a few weeks before, but I still had to side-along until I had the baby.

We walked in silence down the cobbled, mostly empty road in Diagon Alley. It was surprisingly empty actually, it being spring break and all. But it wasn't uncomfortable or anything. James and I had gotten along really well actually, and it was because of little JJ here. I put a hand on my stomach and walked along, daydreaming as usual about the little fetus inside of me and what he or she would look like. And then the most remarkable thing happened.

"JAMES!" I yelled out, even though he was right next to me. He jumped up and looked around frantically, his wand out.

"What's wrong? Is it the baby?" he yelped. I shook my head, grabbed his hand, and brought it to my stomach. He looked confused at first but within a few seconds, his eyes widened in excitement and shocked and he was jumping up and down like a kid, inciting curious looks from the few people shopping nearby.

"I felt it! It kicked, oh bloody hell, the baby kicked!"

"I know, I know!" I said happily. He grabbed me, pulled me toward him, and kissed me on the lips. I pulled back and stared at him in shock. JJ kicked again… and vigorously. I looked at James and he looked nervous, pulled a hand back and rubbed his neck. JJ kicked harder. I think I got the message. I pulled him back to me and kissed him—right in the middle of Hogsmeade and everything. When we finally stopped kissing in the middle of the streets, he had a grin to match mine.

/

"Eve," my father said standing up when I walked into The Leaky Cauldron. There were only a few people and I found him right away. I walked toward him and felt James's arm slip away from mine. He stayed a few paces behind me. My dad looked hopeful and a bit scared, but I walked forward, trying to stay steady, reached him, and put my arms around him and laid my head down on his chest.

"Hi, dad," I said. I felt his arms wrap around me and his lips press against the top of my head.

"I've missed you," he said, sounding a bit tearful. I pulled away and we sat down across from each other, joined by James, who greeted my dad like he saw him every day.

"So you're the boy who got my daughter pregnant?" he asked James. James grinned and nodded, taking my hand under the table.

"What can I say, I'm smitten! It was an accident though," he added gravely.

"Well everyone makes mistakes. Have you thought about what you're going to do?" he asked, turning to me. I shrugged.

"Adoption."

"And you've really thought about it?"

"Yes."

"Found parents?"

"Um… no I—" I said, feeling a bit ashamed. Why hadn't I done that yet? I should be on top of my game. This is a person inside of my body. I needed to look out for JJ's well-being, or I should've just aborted in the first place.

"That's okay, we'll talk about it. I know an adoption agency. I have a friend who works as a social services agent who'd love to help you," he said, smiling. I noticed that he had my smile. I think. And his eyes crinkled in the corner a bit. It was a bit unreal—this whole thing. And it was like looking into my own eyes. Which was unnerving in its own way.

We continued to speak for a while, about everything and nothing—mostly catching up. I found out he was working at the Ministry researching wand lore and doing pretty well for himself. I approached the question of him having another family, but he had nothing of the sort, which was a relief. I didn't know if I could deal with something like that. Then the topic of my mother came up and I told him everything, finally able to confide fully in someone. James asked if I'd rather he leave, which I appreciated, but I told him to stay. If I was going to try and pursue a relationship with him, at least I'd make sure it started out with total honesty. And so I told both of them every single detail of my life with my mother in America.

After I finished, James looked uncomfortable and shocked, while my father looked absolutely devastated. He looked like he was going to cry. "And now she's okay?" he asked quietly. I nodded.

"She's been sober since I started school this year," I said, watching him carefully. He looked up with a bit of hope.

"Can I see her?"

"She'll probably come by for a visit at some point." He nodded. "So, James, Eve, do you have any plans? Would you like to come over? I… well it's probably not as entertaining as the Potter house…"

"I can't be there right now," James said quickly. "It's not as entertaining as you may think."

"Then, well, my house is open and within apparition range," he said happily. He told us the address, he paid (after a tug-of-war wallet game with James), and all three of us apparated to the address he told us.

When we entered, my heart dropped a bit. The house was beautiful, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I had grown up in such terrible terms when I could've been growing up here—where the lights didn't flicker and there were actually paintings and leather sofas? It felt weird and I had to control the little bit of anger I felt. Well it was a lot of anger, but James had a hand on my arm, as if he knew what I was thinking. He gave me a comforting look and I tried to smile back at him, but I'm pretty sure it came out a grimace.

**James's POV**

She was totally on edge. And it was frustrating because I didn't know how much I could be there for her before she realized that she actually didn't want to be with me. In retrospect, I suppose I should've been thrilled for the kiss and the sudden affection, but I was scared it was because of her father. Point was, I wasn't going to get my hopes up with Eve. I never really could. But I just sat with her, trying to figure out if she could make this thing work with her dad. She might go from not having parents to finally having parents. And there was a bit of selfishness behind it.

Whenever Eve talked about not keeping the baby, I thought that there was a reason for it that she never could say. Her parents. They weren't parents, and she was scared she couldn't be one either. And there was this desperate part of me that wanted her parents to be _parents_ again, so she could get some confidence—because there really was no other way I would be able to keep my baby. _My_ baby—our baby—not anyone else's. It was kind of killing me to think that someone else would be my kid's parent.

Eve and her father were talking about adoption and so I started looking around the room, trying not to listen to plans of giving my kid away. I noticed a baby picture on the wall and got up and discreetly went over to it. It was Eve—I could tell from the eyes. She was adorable, happy and smiling, in a woman's arms, which was probably her mother. Her mother looked beautiful—nothing like a drug addict. The picture was probably taken before she started. She was waving at me, her eyes twinkling, and her hair the exact shade of the baby in her arms.

"Dad… is that me?" I looked over and saw Eve standing next to me, looking at the picture. Gary came out of the kitchen and saw what we were seeing and looked sad when he nodded yes.

"I love that picture. You both are so beautiful," he said.

"Mom looks so different," she said quietly, staring at her mother. Gary approached us, a towel still in his hands.

"That was before she… well, you know."

"Dad, why did she start?"

"Her mother, father, and both twin brothers died in a car accident about a month after you were born," he said. "There was nothing I could do or say and she withdrew completely. She would leave the house for days at a time, and I took care of you, always worried. It was a while before I knew that she had gotten mixed up with some drug dealers and by then, she was hooked. I tried everything, but nothing worked until I left, promising to take you back. But… you know the rest," he said.

"She's better now dad."

"I know. And I hope she might have some place in her heart left for me, because she's all I ever wanted and the only girl I've ever loved, except for you of course," he said, putting and arm around Eve.

Eve had decided not to stay and come home with me. She promised she'd come back to her dad's though, much to his delight. What's more—she gave him her mother's address for him to write. This was going better than I hoped. The only thing in the way—we were scheduled to meet adoptive parents tomorrow.

/

**Eve's POV**

"We're coming with you and that's final. You two are not ready to handle things like this. We want to meet these potential parents ourselves," Ginny said firmly, although no one was arguing with her. To be honest, I was actually relieved to have someone who was an actual adult with us. I didn't want my kid to end up with an axe murderer. I'm pretty sure if Harry Potter couldn't tell, no one could.

James, Ginny, Harry, and I all climbed into Harry's car and headed out toward the suburbs. It was far away, but we got there in half the time because as Head Auror and Harry Potter, he can basically magically enhance anything he wants to. We climbed out and I looked at the house Dad's social service agent sent me the address to. It was a big house, very suburban-y. The agent had included in the letter that these two parents had been waiting for a child for a very long time, but nothing had quite worked out. I tried to picture little JJ running around this house and I almost saw it. But James and I were with him. I shook the picture out of my head and headed to the door, with the Potters behind me. James hit the doorbell and we stood around, and I could tell James was as nervous as I was.

A pretty woman opened the door. I looked at her closely. She looked like nice—with warm eyes and a genuine smile. I looked around for her husband as soon as I walked inside, but I couldn't find him anywhere. I decided not to question it and sat down on her beautiful leather sofas.

"Harry Potter!" I could hear her saying, "it's so wonderful to meet you, in the flesh!" I looked over at Harry, who was still at the door, shaking this woman's hand, looking extremely awkward. "And Ginny Potter, you're just as beautiful as you are in the papers." Ginny looked this woman up and down and I could almost see the skeptical look in her eyes. But she was polite and shook her hand, putting on a smile.

"My name is Carly, as you know, and my husband, Jim, is actually gone out to get some snacks. He should be back any time now," she said. She sounded nervous, and kept running her hands up and down her pant legs. In some weird way, her nervousness was calming be down, so I didn't mind it that much. It made me feel more in control.

The door opened and a man entered, wearing a soft yellow cardigan (matching his wife's soft yellow dress), wiped his shoes on the door mat, placed his keys methodically on the key-holder next to the door, and turned to us with a very sweet smile. His hair was perfectly in place and everything about him seemed… well, perfect. He looked like his wife. I turned and unwittingly looked at James and noticed his untidy hair and a bit of dirt on his shoes and smiled inwardly.

"Hello everyone! Mr. and Mrs. Potter," he said, turning to shake their hands. They stood, so I stood too, and shook his hand.

"So shall we talk logistics then?" Carly asked, once all the snacks were laid out. "Eve, is it?"

"Yes," I answered.

"How far along are you Eve?" Jim asked, his hands folded in front of him.

"Four months."

"Do you know the sex of the baby?" he asked. I shook my head.

"That's up to us, Jim," Carly said. "I mean, no offense, but if we're adopting this baby, obviously it's our decision to know the sex of the baby."

"Yes, we know," Harry said, sounding a bit annoyed. "And she hasn't found out so can we continue?"

"Uh—" Carly said, but quickly regained composure. "And have any health complications arisen since conception?"

"No."

"Okay then. Obviously, we know the parentage is fine on the paternal point of view," Jim said. What the heck was he talking about? He nodded at Harry, who looked uncomfortable once again. "What about your parentage Eve? Are your parents…"

"Well my mother is in rehab getting over a drug addiction and I just met my father, who lives here and works in the Ministry," I said, understanding what they were getting at. They both stared at me in shock, and James nudged me. I looked over at him and he looked a bit confused. "Well you want me to be honest right?" I asked, to the general room.

"Yes of course, honey," Carly said. She turned to her husband and gave him a look.

"Excuse us for one moment," Jim said, before getting up and walking to the kitchen, Carly behind him. I stared down at my knees and tapped my foot a few times, before getting up and marching toward the kitchen. I could feel James tensing but Harry gestured for him to sit back down.

"Look," I said, addressing the two of them, who were whispering fervently with one another. They turned to me in surprise. "If you have a problem with my parentage, then just say so. We'll be out of your hair, don't worry. I don't want you to hold anything against this baby. So if you're in, you're in."

"We…want to adopt you baby, Eve," Carly said, coming over to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "We're just going over everything. But we know that you can't control who your parents are. I'm sure the baby will be perfect."

"Then you want this baby?"

"Do you find us acceptable?" Jim asked. I looked at the two of them and realized how perfect they were. It was eerie, but they weren't unkind people. They would make good parents, the both of them, and JJ would teach them how to get a bit dirty themselves.

"James has to agree," I said. "But from what I've seen, you'd be great parents." They beamed at me and I went back to the parlor, feeling strange. James agreed with me, but no papers would be signed without Hermione there for the next meeting. She was going to be our lawyer, to make sure I was represented fairly. It was nice having the head of Defense as my lawyer, to be honest. Not that I didn't trust Jim and Carly, but just because I felt more secure. This was JJ we were talking about.

/

**James's POV**

We got back to the house and Eve went to her room, as usual. I looked after her, trying to figure out whether I should go up behind her. I really wanted to know where I stood.

"James?" I turned to see Dad watching me from the doorframe. It was the first time he talked to me since the fight. I raised an eyebrow and he looked a bit sheepish. "Will you come to the study?" I nodded and walked with him to his study, sitting across from him. "I'm sorry," he said. "About all of this. And what I said."

I stayed silent.

"My Aunt died, James, your Uncle Dudley's mum." I looked up, surprised.

"I didn't know. Grandma Lily's sister?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

"I thought you weren't exactly the closest—"

"We weren't. But she was the only thing I had left of my parents till Sirius—and then he died and once again, she was there. She was the only one who understood what it meant for Voldemort to be back—or Voldemort to finally be dead. She was nothing like a caregiver, but at least there was someone to understand."

"I'm sorry dad."

"Me too. James, I would never kick you out. I was just mad and overreacted. I let my temper best me."

"I figured."

"And James, I will always be proud of you." I looked at him and he seemed honest, but I didn't know if I believed him. I wasn't even really proud of myself. But I nodded. "Are you and Eve…," he started to ask, before trailing off.

"She kissed me in Diagon Alley the other day. But she hasn't said anything or—"

"She's going through a lot. Don't expect her to just come to you. Go to her. She needs you."

"Dad, I hope she changes her mind about the adoption thing."

"I do too, James. But in the end, it's her decision. Because you can't have only one person committed to a baby for it to work out."

"I know," I said, sighing. "I'm going to go up to her now and see if she's okay."

"Do that," he said. He stood up with me and I walked toward the door. I turned back and he seemed sad. I walked back to him and he opened his arms and gave me a hug.

"There's a scout coming to the last game," I said. "He's mostly there for the seventh years, but I'm hoping I can impress him."

"I'm sure you can," dad said, pulling out of the hug and patting me on the back. "You're an excellent Quidditch player. Almost as good as me," he added, with a wink. I rolled my eyes and grinned.

/

"Eve?" I asked, coming into the room. She was laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, her hands on her stomach.

"Hey James," she said quietly. I lay down next to her and watched her. She didn't look at me, but just continued to stare at the ceiling.

"What you thinking?"

"I hope I'm doing the right thing," she said, "that's all." I took her hand.

"Trust your instinct. You can't be wrong," I said. She turned to look at me.

"When did you get so wise, Potter?" she asked.

"I was always this wise, Martin." She scooted closer to me and my heart did a very weird unmanly somersault when she pressed her lips against mine. I pulled her closer to me and we spent the rest of that evening kissing and whispering. It was pretty much everything I wanted.

**A/N: Yeah, there's no Rose in this, I realize. Don't worry-entire next chapter-ROSE! Read and drop the ol' review! :) And I'll probably update pretty fast, considering finals for the next three weeks, and I write my best when I have other things I should be doing ;)**


	26. Irrationality

**Chapter 26: **

**Rose's POV:**

I was distracting myself, as usual, from all of my problems. It was probably a good thing this happened too, because now, I could study pretty well for my O.W.L.s without boys in the way. And I've come to the conclusion that it's easier to hate Malfoy than like him, because then I could just stop thinking about him all together because I couldn't give less of a damn. I slammed my Defense Against the Dark Arts book closed, realizing I had read the same line about Kappas about thirty times. "I didn't think my subject was _that_ horrendous." I looked up and couldn't help but grin when I saw Teddy standing at my bedroom door.

"Hey Ted," I said, running over to give him a hug.

"Hey squirt."

"Why are you here?"

"Well, the excuse is that your Uncle Harry invited me over for dinner tonight and I decided to drop by. But the real reason is that your mum told me that you have not come out of your room since spring break started."

"I... have to study," I said, lamely.

"The Rose Weasley I know has already studied and has time to roam out of the room every once in the while, instead of having her meals delivered to her. What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to sound convincing. I sat back down on my bed and stared resolutely at the cover of the DADA textbook.

"Right. And Voldemort believed in equality of blood."

"Shut up. It's stupid," I said.

"Well, probably. But I'm not going to judge you."

"You totally are. And you're going to be all like _I told you so_."

"Just spit it out Rose. We can beat around the bush all day, but we all know you're dying to talk to someone." And he was right, the git.

"So I figured out I have feelings for Scorpius Malfoy."

"Bet Ron would love to hear that," Ted said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, the boy is positively in love with you. What's the problem? Is it Ron, because I can ask Harry to knock some sense-"

"No, it's the fact that he manipulated me," I said. Teddy raised his eyebrows. I told him the story, and as usual he listened very carefully and let out a very un-professor-ly like curse word when I told him about Helen being in on it.

"I can only say this because I'm not at Hogwarts right now, but those bloody Slytherins!" he said angrily.

"I know! It was just the most humiliating thing to hear. The two of them plotting."

"It's probably better that way anyway. Don't want you to end up like Eve-knocked up. I've heard rumors that Malfoy got around pretty well for a fifth year."

"They're all lies," I said darkly. "He's had sex about as many times as the Virgin Mary."

"Oh. Well you don't need him, Rose," he said, patting my shoulder comfortingly.

"Oh please, as if you've ever had romantic problems. You and Vicky were in love from birth."

"Not always. Actually, in fifth year she started dating someone else. We were never official or anything," he said, in response to my look. "I just assumed it was one of those unspoken things. We had shared a few kisses, but they were few and far in between. And then Ronald Davies asked her out and she went with him for a while. I pretty much retreated into my room and didn't come out for months. Then I realized that if Vicky and I were meant to be, it would work out."

"Aw, Ted," I said, not having known this part of the perfect couple's story. Mind, it wasn't a very big problem, and it was even before they were dating. But even a minor problem between Teddy and Vicky was a pretty huge problem. They were pretty much perfect. "I should just forget about it."

"Or..." he said slowly, as if trying not to offend me, "you could just let it go and be with him. He went about it all in a very Slytherin-esque manner, but he still went about it. And he only kept it between Helen and him. Honestly, I think it's not too much of a big deal. And if you're happy, then you're happy. I wouldn't let this get in the way, if you want my honest opinion."

"I don't," I snapped, getting angry. He was supposed to be on my side. He acted like he was on my side while I was telling the story!

"Okay Rose," he said, as if speaking to a child. He was being annoying.

"If you're not going to take my side, you can leave," I said. Yeah, it was childish, but I was not having a good day. And Teddy was supposed to be the one making it better. He wasn't making it better.

"Actually, I do have to leave now, but the bright side is that you're coming with me!"

"What, no, I'm actually going to continue to sit in here and study, thanks."

"Nope, dinner at the Potter's tonight. Your mum is going to kill me if I don't get you down there."

"You'll be missed," I said sardonically.

"Come on, Rosie," he pleaded with me, "I'll give you an automatic pass in my class!"

"I already will have an automatic pass even if I completely flunk my O.W.L." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked, standing up, looking angry. "It's just a bloke. You're better than this Rose. Much better. And if you have such a problem with your decision, you can change it, because it was YOU who chose to walk away, not the other way around."

"Ugh, fine," I complied. "I'll go to the stupid Potter's."

/

"Rose! It's been ages, cousin!" Al said, draping an arm around my shoulders as soon as I walked into the Potter's vast parlor.

"Yeah, it's been too long," I replied sarcastically.

"What happened to you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Where are James and Eve?"

"Upstairs, probably snogging." I turned to him, shock on my face.

"So they..."

"Yep," he said with a grin.

"Finally, I thought they'd never catch that train."

"They met adoptive parents the other day. I didn't go with them, because frankly, I don't want to meet the prospective parents of _my_ niece or nephew. But I heard it went awfully."

"What?"

"Yeah. Apparently James and Eve both agreed to the arrangement, nothing in writing of course, but I overheard mum and dad talking about how awful the people seemed-pristine, judgmental, and very overbearing. Dad related them to the Dursleys," Al said with a shudder. I had only met the Dursleys on one occasion-Uncle Dudley's marriage to some prissy faced, pudgy, bad-tempered woman-surprisingly, they invited Harry and his friends, even though we were warned to squash all magic out of us. Teddy, who was of age at the time, spent the entire evening entertaining us by hexing the tea pots to whistle and fly around of their own accord, frightening all of the guests, and probably sending them to therapy. Needless to say, we weren't invited to anything else Dursley related.

"Well then they can't use them as parents, what are they thinking? And why didn't Harry or Ginny speak up?"

"Well Harry and Ginny didn't want to say anything there. Apparently, your mum is going to represent Eve and James throughout this whole thing, and to be honest, I think my mum and dad don't want to seem like they're nosing in too far into all of this. After all, it is _James's_ kid. Who would've thought-James being a father. I thought I'd only have one niece or nephew, and it'd be from Lils."

"Well technically, this kid won't be your niece or nephew," I said, scooping up Lou from the floor next to my feet. He purred and settled into my arms. "He'll be adopted."

"I think they should wait until after the baby's born for all this adoption business. I mean, what if Eve wants to change her mind? Or what if the parents turn out to be psychos?"

"Are you two talking about us behind our backs?" Eve's voice asked. I turned and grinned at her, little bump and all.

"Hey you. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she said, smiling, and taking a seat Indian style next to us. "The nausea is still pretty prevalent, but I have less urges to kill anyone today."

"Well that's always a plus," I agreed.

"Why haven't you come around yet, Rose?" she asked, rubbing her stomach and watching me with suspicion.

"Because I've been busy studying," I said, probably a bit too defensively.

"Oh yeah, Al's been locked up in his room studying too. I'm glad I finished my fifth," she said, sighing. "I couldn't be pregnant and studying for my O.W.L.s at the same time."

"But you can be pregnant and snogging James at the same time," I said, grinning. She shot an angry glare at Al, but Al just winked. She blushed and I felt like whooping.

"WILL ONE OF MY SONS COME AND HELP ME? AL?" we heard Aunt Ginny scream. Al, eyes wide, jumped up and ran toward the kitchen to help, leaving me to interrogate Eve further on the story. It was kind of heartwarming, I thought, after she had finished telling it, her face flushed with happiness. That, added to the pregnant glow thing, just made her look absolutely divine.

"Eve, I think, about this adoption thing-_don't look at me like that, I'm not against your decision_-I just think that maybe you should wait till after your baby's born to decide. There are plenty of adoptive parents for newborns, trust me," I said seriously. Eve nodded.

"I've been thinking about that. Those parents kind of creeped my out. At the time, they seemed perfect because they were the exact opposite of my parents. But I realize that's probably not a very desirable thing either. I just... I'm so confused. I feel like James just hates the whole idea, and so does his whole family, and it just makes it so hard," she said.

"You'll do the right thing, but I really think you should wait till after."

"Yeah you're probably right."

"Right about what? Oh hello, my lovely missing in action brother. Where's Hugo? He hasn't been speaking to me of late," James said, flouncing over to us.

"Dinner!" Dad called from the hallway, prompting all of us to run outside to the garden to eat.

/

I think I paced around my room with his letter in my hands for about thirty minutes before plucking up the courage to open it. Well not courage, more like pushing aside the anger I felt. I finally set down on my bed, took a breath, reasoned that I was only reading it not answering, and opened it to read.

_Rose, _

_Thanks for opening this letter. I can almost imagine you pacing around indignantly. Too soon? Okay, I'll shut up. Look, I know that you're angry with me. I know that you want nothing to do with me ever again. But I just wanted to say-I love you. Maybe I went about this whole thing the wrong way, but I kept it between Helen and me. She had her own reasons to pretend, and I was tired of waiting around to see if you had feelings for me. And now you know you do. So can you please just let this go so we can be happy together? Because I know we would be happy together. _

_I know what you're thinking. Probably that I manipulated you, thought of you as a game, but I really didn't. It's the first time I've ever felt anything like this for another person. Please, please, Rose, I'll do anything. I love you. Believe me._

_Looking forward to your letter,_

_Your best friend,_

_Scorpius_

Damn him! I hated this letter. It made me feel guilty. Especially because he pretty much guessed every single thing I did and felt. And then he signed it off with _Your best friend_ as if I needed reminding that he was my best friend for years and years and I would be throwing all that away by being mad at him. But what about him? Damn him, damn him, I just wanted to pull out all of my hair.

"Rosie bud?" I looked up and saw my father standing at the door, looking at me worriedly. "Is it your O.W.L.s?"

"Yeah," I lied easily. "I just... I don't think I'm going to do well."

"You're going to be great," he said, coming over. I discreetly stuck the scroll under my thigh and let him put an arm around me. I leaned in against him and felt better almost immediately. He smelt like shampoo and musky cologne. "You inherited your mother's smarts, thank Merlin for that. Unfortunately, you also inherited her Quidditch skills." I laughed, agreeing with him. "But I inherited your humor and irrationality," I said, and after saying that I knew what I had to do.

**AN: Not happy with this chapter, it's a bit of a filler, but it's necessary. I promise the next one's better. **


	27. Of Truths Hard to Hear

Chapter 27

**Rose's POV**

We boarded the train that day, stuffed with Nana Molly's giant chocolate Easter eggs and a sense of merriment. I actually hurried off to the prefect carriage to find Scorpius. He wasn't there yet. I sat through the entire revised schedule and Scorpius didn't show up. We were dispersed to roam the corridors and I went off looking for him everywhere.

I searched up and down, even tolerating Zabini's idiocy to see if Scorpius had been there. Everyone had said they hadn't seen him. Maybe he was traveling by via floo powder. Disappointed, I began to walk back to my own compartment, before I was stopped by Riley, who had a huge smile on my face.

"Riley," I said, surprised. "what are you so happy about?"

"I just wanted to thank you Rose. I've decided to come out."

"And you're thanking me because..."

"Because you're the first person who made me realize this is real. That I am a homosexual."

Well doesn't that just make a girl feel good.

"Well I'm happy for you Riles. And so will James and Fred. They've been dying to know what's wrong with you too. Did you tell your mum?"

"No, I haven't, but, I was kind of going to save that."

"Coming out means telling everyone, Riley," I said, grinning.

"Well I'm just going to come out to my best friends. Can I get a hug?" I looked at him and realized that I was no longer angry with him. Scorpius was too much on my mind to even care. In fact, I was happy for him. I was happy that he was finally accepting himself for who he was. I open my arms and he grabbed me, pulling me close to him, and almost lifting me off of my feet. I walked back to the compartment with him and smiled to myself when he asked Fred and James for a word. But I really wished Scorpius was on the train.

/

**Eve's POV**

"-so he's gay. Can you believe that? I had no idea," he said. I marked another star on my astronomy chart.

"I didn't either, but it's not a big deal James," I said, for maybe the millionth time. "Oh gosh, JJ just kicks away as he pleases, doesn't he?"

"I know it's not a big deal, but I wish he told us instead of being so-wait, who's JJ?" he asked, looking toward my stomach suspiciously. I tried to not answer and was cursing myself for slipping. But he was watching me for too long, so I answered.

"What I call the baby," I said, blushing. "I didn't want to call it, _it_ anymore."

"I see," he said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "and what, may I ask, does JJ stand for exactly? I blushed harder and mumbled it out. "What was that, didn't quite catch it?"

"James Jr.," I said, slightly defiantly. His amused twinkle didn't disappear, but he was grinning hugely and leaped over to give me a passionate kiss, making my blush grow deeper.

/

**Rose's POV**

"James!" I called, running up to him. He was snogging Eve, as usual, and I had to yell at them to break them apart. "Get a room," I snapped. "Listen, I need your map."

"For what, little cousin?" James asked, looking back down at his homework. "Because if it's to do your prefect rounds, no can do Toots. I'm not aiding and abetting in such terrible things."

"No," I said, irritated. "I have to find someone and kick their ass." James reached into his bag, pulled it out, and handed it over.

"Be my guest," he said happily, before going back to Eve. "Wait," he said, pulling away. "You and Riley went out. Did you know he's gay?" he asked me.

I nodded, still searching the map. "That's the real reason we broke-aha!" I said, excited when I found Scorpius-and Helen-I frowned-sitting together at the library.

"What's wrong?" James asked, watching me.

"Nothing, I've just, here's your map back," I said, wiping it blank. He obviously didn't believe me, but shrugged and took it back. I reached the library and saw Scorpius and Helen sitting at a table, holding hands, leaning close to one another and whispering. I didn't go any farther, not wanting him to see me, and felt like throwing up. How could he? He _just_ sent me that letter. I fought the tears that had been stinging my eyes. I should've written him sooner. Or I should I have? If this was how easy it was to get over me? Anger soon replaced sadness and I stormed away from the pair of them, determined to put an end to all of this nonsense. He was a Malfoy after all. Dad would disown me. I climbed up the astronomy tower, pulled my notes toward me, and began to study, trying not to think of the blond-haired git I fancied. If only I didn't have rounds tonight.

/

He didn't show up. He wasn't at rounds. I think that might have been when my heart actually broke. Forget relationships, we were best friends first and foremost. How dare he turn his back on that? I began rounds halfheartedly, not even bothering to yell at anyone out past midnight. I just walked around aimlessly, thinking about how Scorpius was probably shagging Helen.

"Rose, Rose!" I turned and saw Rufus, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect running toward me.

"Are you coming to tell me where Malfoy is?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I don't know where he is, but I'm supposed to parole with you from now on."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, there was a switch in partners. I think Malfoy wanted earlier hours, but I'm cool with-" and he went on, but I didn't really hear him. I was too busy feeling terrible. He actually switched partners? What was his problem? I groaned, and put my head in my hands. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you not want to work with me?" Rufus asked, looking bewildered at my interruption.

"No, no, I'm fine, Rufus. We're good," I said. He grinned and we walked together, with him being chatty and me hating my life.

/

Weeks had passed, and Scorpius had been avoiding me. We had a few classes together, but I wasn't talking to him after what he did, and he didn't make the effort either. As a result, all interaction ceased between the two of us. Meanwhile, O.W.L.s kept drawing closer, which was something I looked forward to-all the studying I had to do kept me from brooding. I began to maintain a happy face again, wary of my incredible amounts of family-imperceptive as they were.

"Rose, what the bullocks is wrong with you?" Al asked one day, cornering me in the library. Okay, maybe they weren't so imperceptive. I looked at Al, who looked completely out of it, with eyes sunken in and hair messy (more than usual). He also reeked. I pulled out my wand and started performing refreshing and oder repelling spells, to which he backed away from me.

"What the bullocks is wrong with _you_?" I shot back.

"O.W.L.s," he said darkly. "I'm dying Rose, and I need you to help me. But first, I need you to tell me what is with the bloody sad look in your eyes."

"Nothing, O.W.L.s," I tried to lie.

"Oh _please_," he pretty much growled at me. "Do not make me laugh." He didn't look like he was going to do something like that any time soon. "It's Malfoy isn't it? I've noticed you haven't been hanging out. I can kick his arse if you'd like."

"No, Al!" I said, slightly flustered that it was so easy for him to figure it out. "I... yes it's him, but I don't feel like talking about it."

"Are you sure?" he asked. That's the thing about Al. He didn't press you further unless you needed to be pressed.

"I'm sure Al. We can just drop it," I said. "Now, what help do you need?"

"Oh Merlin, everything. I'm so royally fucked." If Al was using such strong language, you knew he was serious.

/

**Eve's POV**

I was walking around when it happened. Just walking around on the grounds, talking to JJ about everything on my mind when Tom Yeller approached me, smelling of Firewhiskey. Granted, I probably shouldn't have been outside so late at night, but neither should he have done what he did.

"Evelyn Martin, the American girl. Pregnant, are we?" he asked, leaning in close to me, his breath ridiculously potent. I nearly puked. JJ took this incredibly appropriate time to kick me hard in the gut. I took a step back, trying to gather my bearings. But Yeller's hand was on my arm. He was surprisingly strong for a drunk guy.

"Yeller, go away," I said, pulling my arm away.

"You've told me to go away before. Rejected me in front of everyone. I'm not sure I liked that," he said, his mouth too close to mine. "You're a pretty girl."

"Let me go," I said angrily. I couldn't get out of his grip. His other hand caught my hair and pulled my body against his.

"Let her go," I heard a voice growl. I looked around and saw Scorpius with his wand out. His face was murderous. Relief fled through me. "Right now, or you'll never fucking see the light of day again, you slimy, drunk, wanker of a person." Yeller laughed, not releasing his grip.

"What's a widdle fifth year perfect prefect going to do?" he slurred. "The Slytherin who's too much of a goody goody to even deserve being in Slytherin. Run away like the Malfoy you are," Yeller said. I tried to kick him in those man parts, but I couldn't move. He had one hand on his wand and I just realized he had petrified me. He and Scorpius were pointing their wands at each other and I felt completely useless.

"I'm not going to say it again," Scorpius said, and even I felt like shivering. Not that I could, because I was completely petrified. Yeller, wand still pointed at Scorpius, leaned over to me and grabbed me by the hair. It hurt, but I couldn't yell out or say anything. And suddenly, he was off of me and I could move again. I fell to the ground, scared out of my mind. I turned and saw James and Al standing next to Scorpius, who looked surprised at their arrival. Yeller was passed out on the ground a few feet away from me.

"Saw on the map," James panted, his wand ablaze. "Thanks Malfoy, for not _doing anything,_" James said, turning to him angrily. Al walked over to me and helped me up.

"I didn't want to hex and get _Eve _by accident, which you could've done," he seethed back. James rolled his eyes.

"I've got this," he said, walking toward me.

"Scorpius, thank you," I said, pushing past both the Potters to grab Scorpius's arm. He smiled.

"Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up."

"Maybe you should drop by Pomfrey or something. Meanwhile, I'm going to bring this pile of shit to the Headmistress's office," Scorpius said, walking over to Yeller and raising him with his wand. He floated next to him eerily.

"Let's go check on the baby," James said, taking my hand. I nodded and we went over to the nurse.

/

Tom Yeller was expelled from Hogwarts-something long time coming apparently. JJ was okay inside there and I was given some calming draught, which I happily took. People somehow refrained from speaking about it or even gossiping about it in the hallways, something I was grateful for.

/

_Evelyn,_

_Hello. We were just checking on you and if you've made a decision about when you want to meet us and what kind of process you want. Your lawyer, Hermione Weasley, has contacted us and said that we'll be in touch soon. Hope to hear from you as well dear. Stay safe and try not to eat red things or apparate too frequently. _

_Hope for a letter, _

_Jim and Carly Collins_

Ugh, they signed their names together. I rolled my eyes before opening the next letter.

_Eve, dear_

_It's Hermione! Hope everything is going well for you sweetheart. _

_This letter is just a formality, since I will be dropping by around three anyway to speak with you. The Headmistress has let us use an empty classroom. I'd like you to bring James as well. _

_By the way, do not write to Jim and Carly Collins. We'll communicate with them through me or we'll talk about it when we meet. _

_See you soon honey, _

_Hermione_

_P.S. Tell Rose and Hugo to drop by and say hi! _

/

"Hello James," Hermione said, kissing her godson on the head, before turning and giving me a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. The morning sickness has gone down, but I'm so sore everywhere, and the baby is always kicking," I said, bringing a hand to my bump.

"That's the Weasley, I think," Hermione said with a grin. "Rose and Hugo kicked so much, it was unbelievable."

"Mum, please," Rose said. "Okay, I'm off to study some more. Have fun lawyering."

"Bye kids. Be good!" Hermione called after her two kids, who had just spent an hour with their mom, catching up. "Okay, down to business." She pulled out her wand and a briefcase showed up on the desk between us. It popped open to reveal lots of papers. "Eve, James, do you like these people as parents? I've actually spoken with them earlier."

James and I exchanged a look. "I... thought I did. I mean, they're sort of perfect," I said.

"But Eve," James said. "They're _too_ perfect."

"They're the opposite of my parents," I shot back. "So obviously, they'll be good parents."

"Sometimes, more often than not, one extreme is just as bad as the other," Hermione said softly.

"So you don't like them?" I asked, looking at the two of them. James shook his head.

"They seem like okay people, and really I don't have much of a say in who you pick. My job is to make sure everything is fair and smooth. Especially because this is a Potter kid we're dealing with. And with that name comes a lot of problems of fame and money and what not. There might be a lot of people out there who would love getting their hands on a Potter baby, as morbid as it sounds. For fame reasons. But may I suggest that you not sign any papers or make _any_ commitments until after the baby is born?" she asked. I nodded.

"That's actually what I wanted to ask. Can I do that? So I get to know other adoptive parents and understand more of what's going on?" I asked.

"Yes, let's do that," James said. "Because if Eve changes her mind and keeps the-"

"James," I snapped. "You need to stop pressuring me to keep this baby. I've told you what I wanted, respect it."

"What about what _I _want?"

"Well it takes two to raise a baby," I said, angrily. "You can't really compromise with something like this."

"I know," he grumbled.

"God, I thought you said you understood!" I said, not able to drop the subject. It was making me so angry. "You told me that day!"

"I _do_ understand, Eve," he said. "But I thought you might've changed your mind after your dad came back and your mom started talking to you-" but he trailed off at the look on my face. I saw Hermione put her head in her hands at his statement.

"I've said it once," I said slowly, "and I'll say it again. It's not your job to save me."

"I'm not trying to save you, Eve. Stop making this about you," he said, and he seemed legitimately angry with me. "Fuck, this is _my_ baby too! But you're so wrapped up in everything, you couldn't take a minute to talk to me about anything. Like over there in those people's house, you didn't even really fucking consult me about how creepy how I found those people. And you were so ready to fucking sign away something that is my blood-your blood-OUR blood away without even caring that those people might be crazy and after their fifteen minutes having a Potter baby fame." I just stared at him, feeling like a more and more terrible person the more he spoke. I really was fucked up. "And yes, I know your life is twisted and terrible and it's just one thing after the other, but that doesn't mean you can just _disregard_ what I want. I know you think you'll make a terrible mom because you might turn out like your mom, but all I'm trying to do is show you that you'll be a wonderful mom, but I'm too _fucking _scared to even broach the topic because you accuse me of wanting to save you. Well fuck this, I'm done. Do whatever the hell you want. It's not like you wouldn't anyway," he said, before getting up and walking out of the door, leaving Hermione and me sitting in shocked silence.

**AN: SORRY SORRY SORRY, please still love me! 3**


	28. Promising!

**Promising!**

**Rose's POV**

Well this was a pickle I frankly didn't care to fix. I was frantic, and had no time for the broody James or the sullen Eve. And certainly no time for the mother who was continuously asking me to fix things between them because this kind of stress wasn't good for the baby. No, I could tell you what was real stress-fucking O.W.L.s. The headache they were causing me. That was going to kill _me_. Eve didn't have O.W.L.s so my sympathy for her was at an all-time low. Meanwhile, my idiotic brother is skipping around jovially as if he even ever had a chance with Eve, who is three years older than him and pregnant with his cousin's baby.

My family was insane.

Really, truly.

"Rose," someone said from behind me. I turned around from the desk of the library to see Scorpius, watching me awkwardly. Anger surged through me, more so than usual, probably because I was on my last nerve with the whole studying thing. "I just came to give you the prefect schedule for next year. Marvin said he wants to do it a bit early for the still standing prefects. He asked me to give all the fifth year prefects the schedule so here." He handed me a piece of paper with lots of times and dates and things. And then I saw him walking away and something animal seized me.

"You son of a bitch," I said, standing up. "You trick me into my feelings, get angry with me when I get angry with you for being a manipulative asshole, and then send me a letter, and then _ignore me completely_."

"Rose, I don't want to talk about this," he said.

"NO, I want to talk about this, because _I cannot concentrate on my O.W.L.s_. Why did you switch partners with me? What the hell is your problem?"

"YOU DIDN'T WRITE BACK. NOTHING. NOT A WORD. SO I STAYED AWAY, LIKE I THOUGHT YOU WANTED!" he yelled back at me.

"SO YOUR FEELINGS DISAPPEAR AND YOUR OFF TO SHAG HELEN IN A WEEK?" I bellowed back.

"GET OUT OF THE LIBRARY, BOTH OF YOU!" Pince screeched at us. "This is a library and there are O.W.L.s coming up you _irresponsible brats_!"

And we were ushered out of there pretty quickly, only to continue our fight elsewhere. "Rose, I am not shagging Helen, where would you get an idea like that?" he asked, quieter this time.

"I came to tell you-" I stopped, turning slightly red. "And you were holding hands with her in the library."

"What did you come to tell me?" he asked, watching me closely.

"I... nothing, I'm an idiot to think that you actually felt something," I said, trailing off.

"I do, Rose. I was holding hands with Helen because she needed a _friend_ that day. And when you didn't approach me that day either, I figured that you didn't want to even speak with me anymore so I had partners changed to make it easier on you. But-"

And I jumped up on him and kissed him, unable to take all of this stupid talking anymore.

/

**James's POV**

After about two weeks of brooding, I realized I shouldn't have done that. I mean, not that I didn't mean it, but there was probably a better way to go about things. She hadn't been to any classes and the map indicated that she was in her room. I wasn't even sure that she was eating, which wasn't healthy, considering she was pregnant. And she's a human. And if it were me, I'm pretty sure I'd die if I didn't get to eat even one meal.

"Quidditch practice tonight, Al. Let the team know. I'm off to check on Eve," I said to Al, who nodded and went back to studying frantically. I probably should wait and have practice till after O.W.L.s. Oh well, this would be the only ones until after testing.

"Laney," I said, stopping when I saw her sitting by the fireplace, working on potions-something I probably should have been doing. She looked up and frowned at me.

"You've made her upset, James."

"I know, but can you bring me up to the dormitory? She hasn't eaten anything for a few days."

"Okay," she said, putting her work down and leading me up the stairs. She opened the door and went back down, leaving me in the girl's dormitory. Eve was sitting in bed, her gaze distant. She snapped out of it and looked at me. She hadn't been crying or anything, she just looked pensive.

"How'd you get up here?" she asked.

"Laney," I said, shrugging and sitting next to her. "I'm not really going to leave you alone in this. I overreacted."

"I know. You're too good," she said with a smile. "I'm so fucked up, James." I felt terrible for adding to her problems and put an arm around her.

"You're not fucked up," he said. "You just have more on your plate than the rest of us. I shouldn't have yelled, but I still stand by what i said. I'd like some more input."

"I know. I'm sorry. Let's talk about this. Without fighting. How would we keep this baby?"

"Well, I've got enough family to help whenever you have the baby next year. We could finish up our seventh years and then both go through job training and then-"

"Then be good parents? After we've done everything? You know how much we'll miss-the first word, steps, crawling, all that-our baby is going to be shuffled from person to person," she said.

"It's better than having our baby raised by someone else," I pointed out.

"Someone else who has the time and care and wants a baby. James, a baby was never really in my plans."

"I know, but plans never really work out. And also, there is no way Jim and Carly can be our adoptive parents," I said, firmly. "They are creepy as hell."

"Okay," Eve conceded. Anyway, I thought so too. There was a comfortable silence that settled itself between us before Eve's stomach grumbling interrupted it. "Lunch!" I said, taking her hand pulling her off the bed.

/

**Rose's POV**

_Rose Jane Weasley, _

_Is something wrong with you? To be dating a_ Malfoy_? Didn't I tell you to stay away from that boy on the very FIRST DAY? It's all over the tabloids. And to hear it like that is absolutely horrendous. I can't believe you didn't even think to tell me or your mother._

_This is a serious issue young lady. And we will be discussing it at length when you return home for the summer. _

I rolled my eyes. Dad could be so dramatic. If James, Al, and Fred could accept my "traitor" qualities, then dad could too.

_We both send our love, by the way. To Hugo too. I hope you are doing well on your O.W.L.s. I know you are though. Seriously though, a MALFOY? Maybe we should take you to Mungo's just to make sure you haven't suffered from brain damage or he hasn't cast an Imperius curse on you or something._

_-Love, mum and dad_

_P.S. Rose, I think it's wonderful that you and Scorpius are dating. I hope you are being responsible though, sweetheart. Love, mum_

I grinned, finding it amusing, and put the letter into my pocket. Scorpius was reading over my shoulder and chuckled. "I got one almost identical from my parents. Mum was happy. Dad was absolutely disgusted and went off about Weasleys and a _long line of blood traitor poverty_. Imagine when we have little mixed babies. My dad will probably disown me."

I don't know for sure, but my uterus may have combusted.

"Okay, what's your next test?" he continued, ignoring the fact that I was a puddle on the ground.

"Transfiguration. Yours?"

"Potions," he said, pulling his notes toward him. "Transfiguration wasn't too bad by the way. Just brush up on your vanishing charm and switching spells."

"For potions, I had to brew an ammortia. It wasn't too bad."

"Thanks," he said, sneaking a kiss to my cheek. "Montague is holding practice tonight for the final against Gryffindor," he groaned, while skimming a potions essay. "But I've got History of Magic tomorrow. I'm the only fifth year on the team so no one cares."

"Don't go. We'll kick your arse anyway," I said easily. He shoved me playfully.

"Nah, we'll get the cup, no worries."

It was wonderful. This was the only thing we had been fighting about since I kissed him. It had been bliss, bliss, and more bliss. It would be like heaven, if it weren't for these glaring exams, but even they couldn't bring me down. Teddy had given me a thumbs up after the DADA exam today, and I was pretty certain I made an O. Potions went well, with a good color and smell to my ammortia potion. Transfiguration, I was slightly worried about, but not as worried as Scorpius was for History of Magic which I had the day after next. But either way, finally getting over the whole Scorpius fiasco was bettering my temperament. I couldn't say the same for Al, who had completely freaked out.

"Rose, that Transfiguration-" he said, after we both came out of the exam room. His eyes were bloodshot and he was jumping up and down. I watched him curiously.

"Al, it wasn't that bad," I said, taking his hand. I felt like he was about to faint.

"No, no, no, no, no it was that bad," he said, his hands shaking. "I got a troll, I just know it."

"Albus, get a grip on yourself. I saw your badger. It was completely gone. And you almost fully switched that squirrel into a chipmunk. You just didn't _quite_ match the stripes."

"NO I FAILED!" he yelled, throwing me off of him before running away. He was mental, I swear.

"What the bully is wrong with him?" James asked, coming out from behind a corner.

"O.W.L.s," I said simply. James looked confused.

"I wasn't nearly as worried."

"You failed, James."

"Yeah, well, I won't fail at Quidditch little cousin," he said jovially. "I'm sure you made all O's though."

"I hope so," I said. "Now, if you'd be so kind, I'm off to study."

"Or snog Malfoy? Come on Rose, can you get more gross?" he asked. I shoved him away and walked off, not bothering to apologize.

/

**Eve's POV**

O.W.L.s were over. There was lots of relief and anxiety all mixed up into one in the air. I had exams too, but they weren't severe. I pretty much could say that I passed them all, with maybe a few mishaps with History of Magic. But no one really cares about that subject. I doubted Binns even cared. I was sitting in the locker room while James was giving a pep talk to the team. The team looked nervous and excited at first, but now they were all trying not to fall asleep during James's "passionate" speech about how much Slytherins sucked. Fred was sitting behind James doing impressions, something everyone was trying to stifle laughter from. It was a while till James caught on, and then Fred received a very severe whack to the head. I looked over and saw Al sitting in the corner, a complete wreck. There was something familiar about the way he was shaking. I couldn't wrap my head around it. It was probably after-exam nerves. I walked over to him and slipped into the little bench space next to him. "Hey Al," I said. He looked over at me with eyes that were the size of saucers and mumbled back a greeting. And then I understood, patted him on the shoulder, and walked away, making a note to confront him after the game.

_"And welcome to the final game of the season. We all saw this coming, let's be honest! Who doesn't like a friendly match between Slytherin and Gryffindor? Especially now that the Gryffindor captain's cousin is shagging the Slytherin seeker! Ow!"_ I looked up and saw that James, Fred, Al and Scorpius had all sent a hex flying toward the commentator's box. _"Sorry about that folks, it's Mickey now!"_ a new voice said. I guess the other guy was knocked out. _"Now, let's welcome the team onto the field. Our captains first, James Potter, Gryffindor and Nicholas Montague, Slytherin!_" There was general applause for both, but much more booing for Montague. _"Shake hands, captains! And we're off! Potter, the red head one, passes the ball to-"_ He went on, but I was getting my own commentary from the omnoculars James had given me to use. They were awesome, these things. I could rewind and watch in slow motion and everything.

I focused on James the entire game, marveling at his flying skills. There was a scout here today, and James was performing extra well. He made every hoop he shot through and passed the ball plenty of times. Usually, he had a tendency to keep the quaffle to himself, but today he was playing like a perfect teammate. Gryffindor started out in the lead almost straight away and stayed that way. I shifted my gaze to Al and Scorpius a few times, watching them circle around with no luck, but a few false alarms. This game was truly epic. After about an hour, the score was 150-200 Slytherin and Al had still not gotten the snitch. James was bloodied up from a bludger and I was hanging on to my seat to make sure nothing hit him again. It was that Rebecca Rogge who got him. I was going to hit her if she did that again. I noticed all the other girls around me had the same sentiments and I felt a little possessive. I mean come on, I was his baby mama. Back off bitches.

"_AND HAS POTTER SEEN THE SNITCH!"_ I turned frantically to see Al sweeping toward the ground, in chase of a tiny golden fluttering ball. Scorpius zoomed behind him, and they were neck and neck. "_POTTER SCORES TWO MORE TIMES!_" Mickey yells, and soon I'm cricking my neck from looking back and forth again, watching both of the Potter's. I turned to Rose, who was sitting a few seats away from me.

"Who are you rooting for?" I laughed.

"Well, Al of course. Scorpius can suck my-"

"_AND AL POTTER HAS GOTTEN THE SNITCH!_" Mickey yelled, his voice breaking in excitement. _"GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP ONCE AGAIN! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THIS HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE SEASON!"_

But I was already down on the grounds (with a lot of maneuvering) and James had caught me around the waist (carefully, considering) and kissed me fully on the lips, with all of his teammates cheering around us. I looked around and saw Al, who despite having caught the snitch looked unhappy. He slipped away from the team and went back into the lockers. I left James, who probably wouldn't notice, because the scout was making his way to the team. I followed Al into the locker room as quickly as I could waddle, and found him slipping off his shirt.

"Al?" he jumped in surprise and turned to look at me. "Congratulations!" I said. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What do you want?" he snapped uncharacteristically at me.

"I just wanted to tell you that was amazing-catching the snitch like that."

"Yeah thanks, can you leave now?"

"No... I wanted to talk to you, Al."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"What's wrong?" I urged, walking over to him and putting a hand on his arm.

"Nothing, go away," he said, pulling away from me.

"Al, please," I said. "My mom had a drug problem. You can talk to me."

"How is that even related?" he asked, his sunken eyes widening at me. He looked frightened.

"You know how," I said, watching him.

"No, I don't. The team's coming back, can you just leave me the fuck alone?" he asked. I frowned and was about to keep talking when Fred came in, followed by the rest of the team, cheering loudly and making a beeline for Al.

/

"THE SCOUT SAID I WAS PROMISING!" James yelled, as soon as he saw me sitting outside the locker room. "HE SAID PROMISING! THE WORD PROMISING!"

"James, that was an excellent game!" We both turned to see Harry, Ginny, and Lily standing a few feet away, grinning widely.

"You saw the whole thing?" he asked, looking happy.

"Every bit. Where's Al, we want to congratulate him," Ginny said, looking around for her second son. I felt uncomfortable when he came out, shaking like crazy, gave an abrupt greeting to his family, and then stalked off. "What's gotten into him?" Ginny asked, frowning at the back of her son.

"Dunno, but the scout said _PROMISING_!" James said loudly. I grinned, his excitement was so contagious.

"I'm proud of you son," Harry said, putting an arm around James. "But I've got to head back to the Ministry. Bye Eve, James, Lils. I'll see you when school's over I expect. Oh and Eve, you'll be staying with us this summer," Harry added. I nodded, already expecting this.

"Thanks," I said. Ginny kissed both of us on the cheek, hugged Lily, and left with Harry, saying she'd have to start writing the article about the game for the Prophet. They always did a Hogwarts Cup special. I watched them go, and tried not to laugh when students started flocking around them, asking for autographs. It had been so long, but they were still so famous.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah this story is coming to a close soon, but with it comes a sequel. I have some of the sequel written already so no fear dears, you won't have to wait for updates forever or anything. You might want to add me as an author you subscribe to in order to get a notification of the new story. :) But that's not till a few chapters later, not sure how many. One more thing before I say tata for now-I'm taking James and Eve's baby name (first,middle) &amp; gender propositions. Leave it in a review or email me at if you don't want it showing up! I'll use it if I like it! I LOVE YOU ALL!<strong>


	29. Intervention

**Intervention**

**Rose's POV**

"Want to come to the party?" I asked, sitting next to Scorpius in the grass. I got a sense of deja vu and realized that this happened after the first game too. Except last time, I wasn't tucked inside of Scorpius's arm, stealing kisses every now and then.

"Nah, they'll just take it as an opportunity to rub it in," Scorpius said, grinning. "Sort of like you."

"I told you we would win."

"It was close, Weasley," Scorpius said, a scowl on his features.

"Mmmhm," I taunted further, but stopped when I received a tickling jinx that didn't end for about ten minutes.

/

**Eve's POV**

"Something is wrong with Al," I stated, a few hours before the end of year feast. I had been keeping an eye on him after the Quidditch game and he didn't seem to get better. So I decided to tell James, when I caught him alone, not partying over his success for once.

"I've been trying to tell people that forever!" he said.

"No, James, seriously."

"Seriously, right? We think he was dropped as as baby."

"James, he's on drugs."

"He sure does act like it, crazy asshole."

"JAMES," I said loudly, jolting him away from the _Quidditch Through the Ages_ he was reading.

"What?"

"Your brother is _actually_ on drugs."

"How do you know?" he asked, shutting the book and looking over at me curiously.

"He has all the symptoms," I said, relieved to finally have his attention. "The shakiness, irritability, diluted pupils. And he just took his O.W.L.s, so I'm sure that's why."

"I don't know. Al's never been the type," James said.

"No one's the _type_," I said, trying not to get frustrated. It's not like he knew. "They just think one day, oh hey, this is okay to try, and then it goes downhill from there."

"I... I guess that would explain his behavior."

"And I tried to confront him but he kept denying it. It was in a frightened way though, so I'm pretty sure I'm right about this."

"Alright, I'll... we'll do our Weasley thing, no worries."

"Okay," I said, a bit unconvinced.

"Just make sure you sit in the compartment back home with us. It should be interesting."

"Where else would I sit?" I asked, laughing, and going back to playing with Lou.

/

**Rose's POV**

"Come sit with us, Scorp," I begged, when he started to make his way to the Slytherin table for the feast. "I won't see you for a whole summer."

"_Fine,_ fine," he said, putting an arm around me. "I guess I'll brace the Weasley clan just for you. Even though Potter won't stop giving me dirty looks yet."

"It's fine, you'll have to face my father one day-it's good practice."

We went toward the table and I could tell he was nervous, but I just held his hand tighter. Everyone knew we had been dating for a while, but we hadn't actually done this before. We always took our meals in the kitchens together, in order to study better. But now O.W.L.s and Quidditch parties were mostly over, so there was really no more avoiding it. He'd have to sit with my insane family. Hugo was the first to do something, by awkwardly standing up when we arrived. He sat back down quickly, blushing red, but still maintaining a very Ron-Weasley-like-scowl on his face. Eve grinned and patted the place next to her and we both sat down, Scorpius in the middle. I could see James shoot Eve a look from his place beside her, and then I saw her shoot him down with her very own look. I looked around for Al, but couldn't find him anywhere, and stopped worrying about it.

"You all can continue talking," I said, miffed that they were being so rude.

"So Malfoy, not feeling so hot?" Fred asked. I inwardly groaned.

"I'm fine?" Scorpius said, unaware of what was about to happen.

"AFTER WE KICKED SLYTHERIN ASS?" James said loudly, drawing attention from pretty much everyone. I turned and shot James the dirtiest look I could muster. He didn't take any notice.

"Yes, Potter. I'm fine," Scorpius drawled, in a very Malfoy like way. "But I'd watch your back next year. I'm captain. And things are going to change."

"Funny thing, Malfoy, I'm captain too. Unless the scout from the Cannons takes me in. Then I guess it won't even matter anymore, would it?" Scorpius snorted.

"Right, Potter. The worst league in the world will take you in. I guess it really won't matter. And then what will you do if you don't get in? With all the numerous O.W.L.s you made? Or are you going to rely on famous daddykins?"

"Scorpius!" I hissed, shocked. Once again, ignored.

"Malfoy," James started, and Eve already had a hand on his arm, probably scared he'd lunge at Scorpius. "Welcome to the family buddy," he said, surprising the crap out of everyone and extending a hand, a huge grin on his face. "If you can insult like us, you're one of us dude."

"Thanks man. I didn't actually mean it."

"No, it's all true," James laughed, "I'm just going to make the Cannons the _best_ team in the league."

"Fat chance," Fred said.

I jumped up, ran to James, and leaped on him, giving him a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you Jay," I said happily.

"Anything for you cousin. Have you seen Lily though?"

"She's talking to that McAllister fellow from Slytherin, you haven't heard? She's off sitting with him now," Hugo said. Everyone turned to the Slytherin table to see Lily holding hands and sitting next to a familiar looking Slytherin third year.

"James, don't freak out," I whispered.

"She's in third year, she can't just—_"_

I think he might have gone over there and given this McAllister guy a punch, if McGonagall didn't appear in front of the Great Hall at that exact moment, her wand out. "Students, it's been another marvelous year. It's time to announce the winner of the House Cup! The hourglasses have been taken down a week ago for maintenance, but the points have still been recorded. In fourth place, Hufflepuff!" There was a polite clapping from the tables around us. "In third, Ravenclaw!" More polite clapping. "Second goes to," we all held our breath, and Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Gryffindor!" James jumped up yelling obscenities, only to be jinxed back down again by a bored Flitwick. "And that means first place goes to Slytherin!"

The Slytherin table went wild, the hall became decked in green banners, Scorpius was cheering like mad next to me, earning him death glares from the entire table. I rolled my eyes. I guess they had to win some too.

/

**Eve's POV**

"Turn out your pockets." James, Fred, Rose, Scorpius, Fred and I were all sitting in the compartment on the way back home. I was tired, feet sore, and head hurting. JJ constantly kicking wasn't making anything any better. On the plus side, I got an entire seat to myself, leaving a few people to sit on the floor. Al had just walked into the compartment when James locked it from where he was sitting at my feet. He stood up to face a very confused (and still shaking) Al.

"What?" Al asked, looking frightened now.

"Turn out your pockets, Albus."

"Why?"

"Do it now," James said. "Or I'll do it for you."

Al's eyes locked on mine and I looked away quickly. "I'm not doing drugs, so you can quit the Weasley interrogation intervention bullshit."

"We don't believe you," James shrugged and drew his wand. "_Accio_!" he yelled. Nothing flew out from Al's pockets. "You must have an anti summoning charm on them. Fred restrain him." Fred got up and headlocked Al, who was yelling obscenities at all his cousins. James went forward and stuck his hands in Al's pockets and brought out a wad of paper.

"What the hell?" James asked, beginning to unroll one of the many scrolls in his hand.

"DON'T READ THAT!" Al yelled loudly. Of course, after he said that, James became more curious, and opened the scroll fully. And then he started to do the most embarrassing thing and read it aloud, a bigger smirk forming on his face with every word.

_Dear Al,_

_I love you! I hope to see you after summer, but for now, here are a bunch of love notes I've written for you for every day of every summer! _

_Love, Addie_

"Who is _Addie_?" James asked, while everyone struggled to keep their laughter in check.

"None of your _fucking_ business," Al snapped. James's eyes widened.

"This isn't Addie Rivers is it? _Hufflepuff Rivers?_"

"What's it to you?" Al asked.

"Al, she's fucking crazy. And my leftovers. I dropped that girl faster than a hot potato," James stated.

"She's not crazy," Al said defiantly.

"She only wanted to be a _Potter's_ girlfriend! She'll just go onto Lily next, count on it," James said, shaking his head. "And it'll be hard to get out of it. Is this why you've been so crazy?"

"Yes," Al admitted. "I haven't gotten any sleep because I studied during the day and Addie would force-I mean ask-me to come around at night, and I was drinking cups and cups of coffee to stay awake." Well that made sense. Coffee, lack of sleep, and a crazy bitch on your case could cause all that too I supposed.

"Albus Sirius Potter, you break up with that girl right now," Rose said angrily.

"NO," he yelled, "you all can't tell me what to do!"

"Fine," James said, throwing the wad of paper at his brother, who dropped to his knees to pick the scrolls up. "Don't break up with her. But you're going to regret it, bro. I promise you."

Al stormed out of the compartment, and then I broke into relieved laughter. "Oh thank Merlin he wasn't on drugs," I said. Everyone seemed to get perspective after I said that and were in much better spirits.

The trolley rolled by a few times, a few games of exploding snap were played, and Lou was on edge big time before Al came back.

"I broke up with her," he said, slumping down next to Rose and Scorpius. Everyone chuckled. "She asked if I could introduce her to my father."

"So?"

"So that she could see if she had a chance with him before hooking up with me."

"Told you so," James said in a sing-song voice, but put an arm around his younger brother anyway, in a comforting way.

"Oh yeah, Rose, I wanted to ask you the same thing," Scorpius said. "I'm sort of like in love with your mom from day one and that's the only reason I even like you, really-"

But he stopped when Hugo hit him hard on the arm.

/

**Rose's POV**

"You can't be with him," dad said immediately, as I stepped off the train, holding Scorpius's hand. I turned around and glared at him.

"You can't tell me what to do," I shot back.

"Rose, he's a _Malfoy_."

"So?"

"So he's scum," dad said, as if it were the most obvious reason in the world.

"Funny, Weasley," someone drawled from behind us. Scorpius and I turned to see Draco Malfoy standing behind Scorpius, looking stern. "I was just about to say the same thing. About your whore daughter right here."

And then he got punched in the face. Hard. By his own son. I widened my eyes and looked at Scorpius, whose hand was reddening slightly. I looked over at Draco, who was still standing, but didn't look very good. He was furious, his hand nursing the now fast forming black eye. I looked back over at dad, who looked a bit irritated.

"Beat me to it," he muttered.

"Don't you call her that, you complete asshole," Scorpius said angrily. "She's my girlfriend, and my best friend, so just deal with it."

"We'll deal with this at home," Draco said stiffly, before turning on his heel and walking off.

"Mr. Weasley, I apologize for him," Scorpius said, reaching out a hand to my father, who looked at it suspiciously.

"One toe out of line, Malfoy, and I'll get the whole Auror department after you, mark my words," dad said. I elbowed him in the side, and he reached out his hand and gave Scorpius's hand a half-a-second, laughable shake.

I guess it was the best he could do. Mum came running over, gave me a quick hug, and turned to dad. "I'm sorry if he gave you a hard time, Scorpius dear. I should've gotten here sooner but I was talking to Eve and James about more adoptive parents. Feel free to come over any time, okay Scorpius? Our house is always open."

"We'll see him during Uncle Harry's birthday party, right?"

"Of course, he has an invite as always, if he wishes to come," mum said. "We'll be at the car, take your time."

They turned and left, leaving me to turn back to Scorpius. Students were bzzing around us everywhere, but I didn't care. I just realized how long it would be since I would see him again. He put his arms around me and leaned down, giving me a kiss on my nose.

"I'll miss you Weasel," he said. "But I'll come over soon, okay?"

"Sounds good," I said, smiling and reaching up to kiss him on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for all the names, first off! You guys are amazing, seriously. I'm still open for more though, although the next chapter, I'm afraid, is the last chapter. But more to come, like I said. We're not finished. This chapter was more of a laugh-esque chapter than anything else. But next chapter will be seriouuuuus. I love you all for sticking with me through it all :)<strong>


	30. September 1st

**September 1st**

**Eve's POV**

"I got it," he said, walking into the room where I was. I turned, with a lot of difficulty, considering the state of _whale_ I was in, and looked at him curiously.

"Got what?"

"My letter. Of recruitment." He sat down next to me, took my feet, and began to massage, something he had been doing frequently. Something that made him the only one I didn't lash out at.

"To the Cannons?" I asked, excitement and dread finding its way to my stomach at the same time.

"Yeah," he said.

"Are you... are you taking it?"

"I think so," he said, not looking me in the eyes.

"So... you're leaving?" I confirmed. "Not coming back to Hogwarts? Living in England?"

"Guess I am," he said, still not looking at me.

"Congratulations," I said, trying not let my voice break, and stood up. He looked over at me curiously, but I just turned and went to the direction of the bedrooms, scared I'd start bawling. It was happening a lot anyway, because of this forsaken baby. He didn't follow me up, something that I was grateful for. School was just about to start and he had to spring this on me. An eight-month pregnant girl who was just about to say "I love you" to him. I was happy for him. I really was, but I was crushed at the same time. I guess he was living the dream, and there really was no other path for him.

I wandered into Lily's room, for lack of anything better to do. She grinned at me, putting a textbook into the trunk lying open on her bed. I started to help her fold clothes, when she stopped me.

"You are too pregnant. Sit down." I obediently sat down, having figured out the hard way that Lily was no good to cross.

"Here, I'll help sitting down," I said, picking up my wand and casting a packing spell. It wasn't the best, but it would do. Lily sat down next to me and took my hand.

"You heard?" she asked, as socks began folding themselves around us.

"I heard."

"He loves you, you know. He's torn."

"I know, and I don't want him not to do it. The baby is just warping my thoughts."

"Well, it will soon be over," she said. With dread, I thought about the actual process. Both my mom and dad were coming down the next day. It would be the first time they saw each other in years. I finally fessed up to my mother about being pregnant, and she was supportive like I knew she would be. She also made a huge turn-around since I had left her, being almost fully restored to looking like she always had. The baby was due in two weeks, but the Healers at Mungo's kept telling me that the first usually came early, which considerably freaked me out. I would have to go through this whole thing, and then give up JJ for adoption right after. I'd have a day to change my mind, but after that I'd have to live with the decision. But it wasn't like I would change my mind-I was doing what was best for my baby. Al meandered into the room and collapsed onto Lily's bed.

"Hello whale," he greeted me. I returned it with a dark, dark look.

"I will end your life, Potter."

"You'd probably be in Azkaban for life for killing Harry Potter's son," Rose said from the doorway.

"When'd you get here?" Lily asked.

"A few minutes ago. Mum wanted to know if you wanted any cookies. Personally, I don't think you do. They're pretty awful."

"Yeah, we'll pass on Aunt Hermione's cooking," Al laughed. "Although tell her thanks."

"Nah, I'm not going anywhere yet." She sat down on the now pretty crammed bed.

"Heard from Scorpius?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Rose said, her favorite topic of conversation had been brought up. "He's meeting us tomorrow at King's Cross."

"Well, obviously," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "I mean where else will he be? School starts tomorrow."

"Okay smart arse," Rose snapped. "I'm just happy that's all."

"Cut it out," I said to her. "Not all of us are happy, you know."

"Hey guys." We all turned to see James standing at the doorway, smiling uncomfortably. Lily beckoned him in. "How's it going?"

"Packing. Something you're not doing, lucky," Lily said. She could've just kicked me in the gut. It would've been just as painful a reminder.

"Eve, can I talk to you? In my room?" James asked. Rose watched me curiously, but I ignored everyone and followed James out to his room. Well, I was slower than him, considering I waddled now, but I still made it there and sat down on his huge bed with the soft mattress and immediately stretched out on it. He let out a chuckle and joined me.

"I'll be there for the birth," he said.

"You'd be there for the birth anyway, James," I responded.

"True, but this time I don't have to come from school. I'll just be there, you know?"

"I guess."

"This doesn't have to be the end. I'll see you on weekends, holidays, and then you'll be done with school..."

"I know that, I'm just on baby hormones and my mind made it bigger than it was. James, I'm really, really happy for you. I hope you know that."

"I know that," he murmured, before turning and kissing me.

/

**Rose's POV**

"Late, always late!" Mum yelled to the house in general. My trunk was already in the car, robes and prefect badge in my purse, and I was dressed and ready to go in the living room, joined by Lily, James, and Eve. Al was still in the Potter house, getting ready, and as usual, so were Hugo and dad, both of whom had just woken up. "Don't you have any shame?" Mum kept yelling from upstairs.

"I'm so nervous," Eve said suddenly.

"Aunt Hermione's always like this. Don't worry, it's normal," Lily said, leaning down to tie her shoe.

"No. My parents meeting. I mean how weird is that?" she asked.

"It'll be fine," I said. "I mean, you'll have to write and tell us everything okay? I'm serious."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, "but what if they hate each other and spend the whole time fighting?"

"Doesn't worrying make you go into early labor?" Al asked, walking in, pulling his trunk behind him.

"Shut up, Al. No making her mad, remember?" James said warningly.

"I can't believe you're not coming back," Al said.

"Well Fred will be a good captain," James said. I could tell he was a bit upset about the fact that he wasn't captain anymore. But it was overshadowed by the excitement I knew he was keeping in for Eve's sake that he was playing as reserve chaser for the Cannons.

"Eh," Al said. "Not as good as you. But don't tell him I said that."

"No one's going to throw a party like you," I pointed out.

"I don't know. I was teaching Scorp the tricks of the trade during dad's birthday. He might be the next Great." James considered himself a _Great_. Before him was Fred the first and George, before them Sirius and James the first, and before them the Prewitt brothers. For James to call Scorpius a future Great was big news. It meant that he had a lot of respect for his past enemy.

"Wow, you two must have really hit it off," Al snickered. "Rose, better watch out, might have competition. You too Eve." To which he got one whack to the head and two jinxes thrown his way, all of which he easily dodged.

"GET DOWNSTAIRS! EVEN AL IS READY, YOU INCONCEIVABLY THICK BOY!" I heard mum yell from upstairs.

"Poor Hugo," Al said, laughing. Hugo walked downstairs, snickering.

"She's yelling at dad, actually," he said, rolling his eyes. I took a good look at him. He had finally stopped brooding over Eve, seeing as how she and James were good together. He finally cut his hair and it looked manageable. He was handsome, and I felt like a proud big sister, which was weird. But I gave him a one armed hug as soon as he sat down next to me anyway, which he actually didn't shrug off. Dad walked down about a minute later, looking angry and disgruntled, followed by my irritated mother. They're always arguing. It was a wonder they even stopped arguing enough to fall in love and get married. Let alone have me and Hugo. Ugh, mental images I didn't want.

/

Scorpius was the first person I saw and I pretty much skipped like an idiot all the way to him. He grinned widely and pulled me up for a kiss. "Missed you."

"Ugh," I heard and turned to see Mr. Malfoy standing behind us, looking grossed out.

"Dad, lay off," Scorpius said angrily, before hugging his mom and helping me and my trunk onto the train. We both got off and made our way to my family.

"Hey mom!" Scorpius said to Eve, which earned him a scowl. "You're almost due aren't you?"

"Ugh," she just responded. He hugged her as best as he could.

"I'll miss your pregnant self. Dude," he said, turning to James. "What the hell am I going to do without you kicking my ass at Quidditch?"

"Dude, you're still going to get your ass kicked in Quidditch," James said, clapping him on the shoulder. "_But_ you're going to throw some killer parties. Al has the map, and you know where the Room of Requirement is."

"How could I forget the place where you dragged me off and beat me up and left me to die of hypothermia in the Astronomy tower?" Scorpius asked sarcastically.

"You had it coming," James said. "Plus, you're being dramatic. I would've come soon after. I'm not a monster."

"Will you two stop bickering like a married couple because the train is about to leave," Al interrupted. He turned over to James and gave him a hug and then gave Eve one too. Well a hug for Eve would be stretching it. We both made them promise to write and keep us updated on the baby thing, and turned and climbed on the train

/

**Eve's POV**

"Ah, I'll miss them. It'll be much quieter without them," I said.

"I'm still here," he said, putting an arm around me.

"For now," I retorted.

"But after I leave you'll be back in school and then the loud noises shall commence," he said. I rolled my eyes. And then clutched my stomach. Because it hurt. Pretty badly. "Man I hope the partying doesn't stop."

"James," I muttered, clutching at my stomach again.

"Because I might have to kill Scorpius. And then Al. Because Al has my genes. I know he's pretty lame, but he needs to be able to throw a good party you know," he continued.

"James," I said, a little louder. Man this was killing me. And something wet just ran down my jeans.

"I mean, it's a fundamental part of growing up. I mean, even dad throws some great parties, and he's like the savior or whatever," he said.

"Eve, what's wrong?" Oh thank God, at least one of the Potters wasn't a prat. Ginny was standing in front of me, holding on to me, because I was clutching my side.

"I think I'm in labor," I said.

"OH FUCK!" James yelled inappropriately.

"Language, James," Ginny said. As if it were even the time.

"Okay," Harry said. "What do we do, what do we do what about your parents, what's going on oh my god Ginny, I forgot how to get to Mungo's, how oh god please tell me you-" Apparently, this ran in the family. I wonder how he had three kids and still couldn't hold it together.

"Off to the hospital," Hermione said, taking my arm. "Ron will drive."

"I will?" he asked. Then he looked at me and his mouth formed an O. And it was like a whole new Ron. He was completely calm and grabbed his car keys. "James, help Eve into the car now. The rest of you apparate. Harry, side along with Ginny, because you always forget where it is every single time."

"No I don't," he mumbled, while everyone around him laughed. But I was too busy having horrendous periodical pain to notice. James lifted me off my feet and swung me into his arms as if it were the easiest thing in the world, even though I was humongous. He placed me into the car and told me not to worry. Ron got into the front and started driving like a crazy man.

"Call-" breathe "my" breathe"my-parents," I told James. "On-my cellphone."

**AN: I lied. There's another chapter. :)**


	31. A Choice

**A Choice**

**James's POV**

Okay. This would be okay. I took out the mobile, a hand still clutching Eve's, and looked through the phone for Gary's number. I dialed and brought the phone to my ear, trying to remain calm.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Gary? This is James, can you meet us in Mungo's instead of the house? And can you let Caroline know too?"

"Why? What's going on?" he asked, sounding panicked.

"She's in labor," I said.

"See you there," he said, hanging up the phone.

Uncle Ron parked the car and opened the door. Aunt Hermione was there within two seconds with a wheelchair that I helped Eve into. She was sweating hard and I pushed her into the hospital, Ron and Hermione ahead of us.

"Eve Martin," I heard Aunt Hermione say. "No we will not wait. Do you know how this is? Evelyn Martin. And the father is James _Potter_. And I don't think I have to clarify who we are, do I?" Aunt Hermione almost never uses the Golden Trio thing, so I could tell this was a big deal. Healers swarmed us almost immediately and took over for me. I followed them past the waiting room and into the emergency ward. They went past two double doors, Hermione and Ron both went after them, but I stopped dead, scared.

"James Potter?" I turned and saw an older version of Eve walking toward me.

"Hi, you must be Caroline," I greeted, holding out my hand. She looked surprised and took it. I couldn't help but take a look at her. She looked healthy.

"Nice to meet you. Where's my baby?" she asked. I pointed to the room door behind me and she walked inside. I sat against the wall and tried to breathe.

"James, what's wrong?" I looked up and saw mum leaning down next to me. "Why aren't you in there with her?"

"I don't know," I admitted, a little shamefully. "I'm scared."

"_She's_ having the baby, you wanker," someone said. I looked up and saw Dom walking into the hall, looking beautiful as ever. I jumped up to give her a hug.

"Why are you here?"

"I was in town, dropped by to congratulate you, and heard you were here. So I decided to come by and help in any way I could," she said.

"Could you go get coffee for around—just bring a lot of coffee," she said, frustrated after trying to count the number of people around.

"Will do Aunt Ginnay," Dom said, in a peculiar accent, before running off.

"James, you need to get in there, she's asking for you," she said. I shook my head.

"JAMES!" My head snapped up and I saw Uncle Ron standing in front of me looking angry. "You are _not_ going to be like your father in these kinds of situations. You are my godson and nephew and you will stand up like a man and walk in there and _be_ there for your woman, no matter _what_ she decides to do, you will stick by it. Kapeech?" I think everyone went dead quiet who was out there.

"Uh… is that the room where my daughter is?" Gary asked, having just come up the hallway.

"Yes," mum said. He nodded and went through the doors. Uncle Ron was still glaring at me.

"Alright," I snapped at him, before standing up and pushing open those dreaded double doors.

"James, what in the hell took you so long?" she screamed, her face sweating, right as I walked into the door. "AND HEALER, WHEN CAN I PUSH OUT THIS BABY?" The Healer was trying not laugh, I could tell.

"When you're ready. You just keep having those contractions, honey," the Healer said.

"I was in the bathroom," I said, running to grab her hand.

"Yeah? I WAS IN LABOR!" she yelled.

"You still are," I pointed out. I probably shouldn't have because her eyes went extremely narrow and she looked like she was about to punch me in the face. She grabbed my collar and pulled me down to her face.

"I'm going to ignore that. Look to the right corner of the room. My parents are talking to each other. What do you think they're saying?" she asked. I looked over to see that she was right. Gary and Caroline were sitting down next to her, heads together, talking.

"Well they probably have a lot of catching up to do," I said. Dom walked into the room with a tray full of steaming coffee cups.

"Oh my God. Get her out of here," Eve said.

"What? What's wrong with Dom?"

"She's BEAUTIFUL!" Eve said uncharacteristically, "and I'm fat and ugly and pushing out a baby!"

Dom walked over and took Eve's hand. "Honey," she said, shoving the tray of coffees into my hand. Dad took them from me.

"I need something to do," he explained, before running off. I turned back to Eve, who was resolutely staring down at the sheets. She was sweating slightly from the contractions, her hair was pulled up to the top of her head, and her complexion was rosy. She was more beautiful than ever. But if I told her that, she'd probably claw my eyes out.

"You are doing something amazing. You grew something in there," Dom said, pointing to Eve's tummy, "and now you're about to bring him or her into this wonderful world. Now _that's_ beautiful," she said.

"Just to give him away," she said. I could to tell she was trying not to cry.

"Whatever you decide to do," Dom said, "adoption or keeping her—"

"I have a feeling it's a boy," Eve said, cutting her off. Dom just smiled.

"Keeping him, that child will be loved no matter what, right?"

"I guess so," Eve said, through a watery smile. I wanted to punch Dom in the face for justifying this adoption thing. This was _not_ okay. "Okay, you can stay," Eve told her. Dom grinned and placed a kiss on Eve's cheek. She turned to me.

"Listen up Jay," she said, pulling me to the side. "You're her bitch today. Whatever she wants, you do, understand?"

"This is my baby too," I shot back.

"Are you giving birth currently?" Dom asked, glaring at me. I shook my head.

"Then for once in your life, drop the jokes and the remarks and the comebacks and be there for the girl you love, understood?"

"Understood. But you're a bitch, you know that?"

"I always knew that. I'm half-Delacour. Bitch is in my blood."

/

**Eve's POV**

This was like the most painful thing. If this was the most painful thing I didn't even want to know how the actual giving birth part would be. James hadn't even showed up till just now. And I didn't even know why. It wasn't like he was the one giving birth here. And my mum and dad gave me a quick hello before going to each other to catch up as if their only daughter wasn't giving birth.

Jerks.

And then there was Dom, who was so blindingly beautiful and smart. It was just all too much. I was sweaty and greasy and wanted a god-damn shower. And I wanted my cervix to be fully dilated so I could get JJ, this kid who must have had some sort of vendetta with me, out for good, because I was tired of it. I was tired of having these internal battles with myself. I was tired of not knowing what was best for my kid. And yeah, I guess the decision would be worse after I gave birth, but for now, I just wanted to not be fat anymore. And I wanted to be able to hold my emotions together as usual. And I wanted to be normal for fucking once. I came to England hoping to be _normal_ like I never was. But that didn't happen.

And it was my fault.

I knew I hated careless people. And I had come to hate myself.

"You're ready, honey," the Healer said, smiling. Oh did I mention I hated her too? For being so _bloody _cavalier? Yeah, I used the word bloody in my head. I must have been becoming a true Englishman.

"I'm fully dilated?" I asked. She nodded.

"Who do you want here when this happens?" she asked.

"James," I said immediately, "mom and Ginny." Everyone else filed out after saying good luck, and I tried to fight the nausea that was coming up from being so scared.

/

**James's POV**

I was to stay. Okay. I could do this. I know I'm the sperm-giver in this situation but I was kind of hoping that she didn't want me in the room. But she did. Okay, Dom said I was her bitch today so I'd be that. She looked so scared so I went to her side and took her hand.

"Alright honey," the Healer said. "Time to start pushing." And she did start pushing and I don't know how she did it. She screamed with every push and all the strength I knew she had had come to the forefront. Also, my fingers were going numb. "You're doing good, but you need to push harder!" the healer said. Eve snarled at the healer.

"No. I'm not pushing anymore," she said and went limp. Her eyes closed and she went completely pale.

"Eve," I said leaning down. "Please, come on love, you can do this." No response. I saw mum lean down and push back Eve's hair.

"Just a little more, Eve," she said. Caroline came and took her daughter's face in her hands and shook her.

"Something's wrong, Healer," she said, panic entering her eyes. "She's not breathing."

I looked down at Eve, who was indeed as still as a board. "What is going on?" I said, trying hard to keep myself standing, "why isn't she breathing?" But even as I said this, I was pushed aside by a team of healers, one of whom was ordering me and the rest of the family out.

"NO," I yelled at the Healer who was taking my arm and bringing me out the door. "NO YOU ARE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!" I bellowed. Two arms gripped me from the back and pulled me out. Anger rippled through me and I punched the person in the face and made for the door again, but I found that I couldn't move at all. Someone had petrified me. I fought hard against it but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't fight it. I saw mum and Caroline coming out of the room, looking as scared as I felt, but not fighting their healers. The double doors swung shut and locked and the jinx was off of me. I ran at the doors and beat on them. "FUCKING LET ME IN!" I bellowed, my fist bleeding from hitting the door.

"JAMES POTTER!" I turned around, ready to strangle someone, when I saw dad standing in front of me, his eyes flashing. "Sit down." Angrily, I pulled a chair to the hospital doors and sat down, biting my fingernails. Uncle Ron was standing next to him, nursing the black eye I had just given him. I felt bad, but not that bad.

"What happened?" I heard Gary ask Caroline.

"She's not breathing," Caroline said, choking up. Gary stood up and started pacing. Dom started making more coffee, her face pale.

"Did the Healers say anything?" Dad asked.

"No," mum answered. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Aunt Hermione.

"It's going to be fine, James," she said, kissing my forehead. "It's going to be okay."

"No, it's not," I said, fists clenched. "She wasn't _breathing_," I hissed. She sighed and stood up, giving my hair a ruffle before going back to the rest.

The minutes seemed to become hours. I took to pacing like Gary, frightened. I couldn't believe this was happening. Everything had been normal until just now. Everything. And no matter what, I thought the worst thing could be giving up this baby. But I found out there was a worse thing. I never even thought about this happening. It didn't occur to me. I thought magic was capable of anything. I still couldn't believe that this was even an issue.

A healer came out and I jumped up to greet him. He looked sweaty but I couldn't read anything from his expression.

"She's had a heart murmur. I'm not sure why, but we're working on it."

"You're healers!" I said, exasperated. "What about magic?"

"We're not willing to try anything. Then both the mother and the child could die. We will have to do this the old fashioned way. We will come out periodically with updates. I think that the media is here too, but precautions are being taken to make sure they do not enter this hospital."

"Thank you," I heard dad say from behind me. The healer nodded, turned, and went back into the hospital doors, despite my desperate yell.

"Fuck," I said, kicking the doors through which the healer just went. I hated him. I hated everyone who was so desperate to withhold information from me.

"James," I looked up and saw Al, Rose, and Lily standing in front of me. Scorpius was behind them too. "We heard and pretty much forced our way down here."

"You got the train stopped?" I asked, confused.

"Well yeah. And then McGonagall apparated us to the hospital and went back to school. She sends her prayer," Al said. "What happened?"

"I don't fucking know," I said, trying hard not to kick the door in anger again. "A heart murmur but they won't fucking say anything more. She stopped _breathing_."

**Rose's POV**

He was crying. I walked over to him and put an arm around him. He fought me off but I stayed there, and finally he allowed me to stay and leaned in against me. "Tell me it's going to be okay, Rose," he said, letting a sob escape him.

"I can't James. But we'll know soon." He began to shake violently in my arms and I kept my grip solid.

A healer walked out and he literally launched himself out of my arms.

"We can't save them both," the healer said, looking grave. My heart stopped. James stopped shaking completely, "but we can save one."

**AN: So I'm a compulsive liar, because this isn't the last chapter. Obviously I'm not so heartless as to leave you here. And I'm sorry about this by the way. I know many of you are cursing my name, but unfortunately, this is always what I had planned. **


	32. Something New

**Something New**

**James's POV**

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" I asked the room after the Healer retreated, giving everyone time to think, "save Eve! Why are we even thinking about this?"

"Because James, don't act rashly," mum said. "Plus it's Caroline's and Gary's decision, not yours."

"Why is it theirs? Because they've been such fucking good parents this whole time? Like they're not the reason Eve is so fucked up?" I probably shouldn't have said that. Mum was looking at me like I had grown another head. I looked over at Gary and Caroline, who looked heartbroken.

"He's right. We agree with his decision to save Eve, but he's right," Caroline said.

"I… didn't mean it like that," I said quietly.

"Yeah, you did. And you're right," Gary said. "It's okay. I'll go tell the healers."

I slumped down in the chair and leaned into Rose, who was sobbing slightly. My chest hurt. But other than that I was going numb. Completely and totally numb. I was going to lose the baby. What if she hated me for picking her? She probably would.

"James? James Potter?" a Healer came out. "Eve is asking for you."

"She's… it's finished?"

The Healer didn't say anything, just gestured me in. Eve was laying there, her eyes cracked open, her face deathly pale. "Save the baby," she said, as soon as I walked in.

"Eve, I am not doing that."

"Please," she begged. "And keep him."

"Eve," I said, my heart breaking. "I can't. I can't leave you behind. I am nothing without you. And so I don't care if you hate me for the rest of my life, but I'm not making that decision."

But I was talking to a stiff board again. "SHE'S NOT BREATHING AGAIN!" I bellowed, making all the healers rush forward again. I was kicked out again this time too, but I didn't fight it. I couldn't. I didn't even have any more fight left in me.

**Rose's POV**

"Rose, look," Scorpius said, pointing toward James. He was pale and sobbing, and couldn't even make it to the chair. Scorpius and Al jumped up and ran toward him, picking him up and placing him in a chair. I walked over and held him while he sobbed.

"What's wrong?"

"She's not breathing again," he gasped. Gary and Caroline turned and fell into each other, sobbing. I turned and looked around, hearing weird snapping noises and saw someone with a camera sitting behind a flowerpot. I elbowed Al and Scorpius and pointed. They were up in a second. They walked over, as if cavalierly talking to one another, until one second later, the guy with the camera was up with his collar scrunched up and pushed against the wall.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Al snarled at him. "You are intruding on a tragedy here."

"Albus Potter, language. And put him down," Aunt Ginny said warningly, walking up to the man. "You need to get out of here. Are you working for the Prophet? Because I will have you fired, you no good—" she began.

"No ma'am, _BeWitching Tales_—"

"Get out of this hospital," Uncle Harry said, drawing his wand. The reporter yelped and ran out of the ward at the threat of Harry Potter hexing him to bits and pieces. I would have thought it was funny, but I wasn't sure anything was funny at this point.

/

**James's POV**

This time it did draw into the late hours. Dom had left, promising to come back after she had showered, and a few other people meandered in and out, checking on us, bringing us food, but I refused to eat until I knew what happened. More than once dad tried to use his golden boy status to force his way in, but over and over again it didn't work. A healer came out around dusk the next morning, looking grave. My heart was in my throat. "Follow me," the Healer said. "Everyone but James. Eve said she wants to see you after everyone."

People went in and came out, smiling and looking relieved. Finally, I was called in. Eve smiled at me, and I ran toward her, feeling sick.

"Eve, oh thank God—" I said, taking her hand.

"No, James listen, I'm not going to make it," she whispered. I dropped to my knees, keeping her hand in mine.

"Honey, you must be tired and speaking nonsense…" I said.

"No, the Healers said there's nothing they can do." I looked at her, disbelieving.

"No."

A Healer put his hand on my shoulder. "She's telling the truth."

"But then why did everyone look so happy?" I asked, turning in horror to Eve.

"Because I lied to them. But I'm telling you the truth because you're the only one, James. You've only ever been the only one I've loved and who's loved me from the beginning."

"Eve, stop saying those things," I said, starting to cry.

"James, I love you," Eve said, touching my face. "And I always will, you know that."

"No, don't you dare say goodbye. There are no goodbyes. AND GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME!" I yelled at the healer, who sprung away from me.

"Amelia. Name her Amelia Potter."

"Who?" I asked, trying to keep my sobs in.

"My baby girl. Our baby girl. I was wrong," she choked out, pale and suffering. "She is a _she_."

"What?" I asked. "The baby?"

"I told Scorpius and Rose to be godparents. I hope that's okay."

"Eve, what are you saying? I don't understand you, please talk sense—" I sobbed.

"Keep her," she said, stroking my hair. "She's beautiful." I shook my head, not able to comprehend what was going on. She couldn't die. She couldn't leave me. "Kiss me, James," she said breathlessly. Sobbing I shook my head, refusing to say goodbye. I looked up at her face, and there was a tiny smile, and tear filled eyes. I stood up as quickly as I could and leaned over her, leaning over and kissing her lips. She responded with fierceness and my heart was breaking.

"Don't leave me, Eve," I sobbed, hugging her violently close. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me—" But she wasn't breathing anymore and her arms had fell away from my body. I pulled away from her and looked at her face, pale and perfect, even in death. Her eyes were open and sobbing, I reached up and closed them, not bearing to see the lack of that beautiful fire in them. And then I panicked. "DO SOMETHING!" I screamed, and healers swarmed around me, pulling me up and then everything went black.

/

**Rose's POV**

Amelia Evelyn Potter. She was a beautiful baby. Her eyes were bright green, her hair a dark red, curly sort, and her skin pale. She was a small, quiet baby, and for days, she cried only very little. She watched. She watched everyone a lot. Well, not her father, due to the fact that he couldn't even look at her. He never looked at her. He hadn't even held her. It was a problem, considering we were supposed to go back to school in a week. I assumed Aunt Ginny would take over but she had work too. Mum did too. Scorpius assured me that I had enough family for an army of babysitters. The night before school I tried for another trip to James's room, trying to get him out. I knocked twice, but no answer, so I pushed the door open.

_Left for the Cannons,_

_Be back in a month or two._

_James_

I threw the note on the floor, sank to my knees and began to sob. I sobbed for Amelia. I sobbed for Eve. I sobbed for James. Arms wrapped around me and Scorpius and I sat like that, enveloped in each other.

"I'll work from home," Aunt Ginny said from the door way. "He just needs time."

But even she sounded unconvinced.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know what you all think of me. But it was always the plan. If you still love me, there's a sequel that will be good, hopefully. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me and <em>Secrets<em>. You're seriously where my inspiration came from. Until next time, gmenon1 :)**


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